Life has been all go in the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago I was getting wined and dined at Dublin Castle for a Reconciliation Networking Conference – there was an evening reception in the State Apartments then the following day’s programme included panel discussions on a variety of topics including reconciliation work with young people. Some interesting perspectives and some good speakers so it was definitely worth the trip. But I think I need to perfect my networking skills! I travelled with Rev Liz Hughes of Whitehouse Presby and she was great at introducing me to people, so we both passed ourselves off respectably.
Last week was a really good week in work because I felt like I was getting stuff accomplished and ticked off! At the moment I’m doing a lot of marketing/PR/admin kind of stuff so not seeing any young people which is kind of strange and certainly it’s not the kind of work I ever really expected to be doing. But I’ve got into the swing of things a lot better in the last couple of weeks and am quite enjoying it all. It’s a new challenge and there’s plenty to get my teeth into which is good.
Then last Friday my Dad went into hospital with suspected meningitis. Thankfully he’s home now and has responded really well to antibiotics so is on the mend, but things were a bit scary over the first 24 hours. I headed off to Aberdeen on Saturday for my holidays – there wasn’t anything I could have done at home so I just kept in regular contact with my Mum and big sis Jenny, a nurse and the family medical expert – very good at keeping us all calm!
Aberdeen…was great! A cousin has just moved up there this year so it was really good to spend time with her, her hubby, their 19-month old son, James (such a wee pet, I could have taken him home!!!), and Boo-Boo the dog (I question how a pitbull terrier can have any credibility with a name like Boo Boo but he doesn’t seem to mind too much). My cousin is such a good cook so I was well fed in-between sessions of reading books to James and watching recurrent episodes of Noddy! We had a good dander along the beach at Cruden Bay on Sunday and the weather was actually warm enough to wear shorts – something that didn’t happen too often when I was at uni there! I also got the chance to catch up with some folks from the church I attended during my uni days which as always was really special and reminded me of how much I love and miss Aberdeen. It’s such a nice part of the world with some fantastic people. Unfortunately we ran out of time to visit my old haunts at the King's College campus (see below) in Old Aberdeen – I used to absolutely love every day walking into campus, but hopefully I’ll fit that in the next time.
I arrived home on Wednesday – I’m now very glad that my flight wasn’t booked for yesterday as it turned out to be a nightmare for travellers in airports all over the place. My 14-year old niece was heading off to the States on Wednesday to help another cousin with her 3 children and although they had delays and hold-ups with immigration, they got there safely, we would have been freaking out completely if they’d been travelling yesterday.
Today I headed to Donegal to do a few errands for my parents. Managed to fit in a quick walk on the beach and missed the rainshowers – great to get the cobwebs blown away! So in one week I’ve managed to see both the North Sea & the Atlantic Ocean.
And finally the most exciting news is that I’m an aunty for the 9th time! Baby Sophia arrived into the world this afternoon weighing in at 7lb 2oz. My big bro Michael is quite possibly the happiest man alive today. Congrats to him & mum Joan. I’m looking forward to seeing them all.
…and actually I think I’m looking forward to life calming down in the Erwin household!
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