These Rolling Hills

I think I'm still in shock about it all.
I can't tell.
In spite of it, I raise a glass.

This is a toast to the emotional river that came with seeing friends go.
A toast to the river I've ignored and fought and dammed up.



Let's keep this simple, though.
I want a conclusion.

Here's my conclusion, saying goodbye to Ireland was difficult. I certainly finished all my business there and am ready to catch up with America. I'm ready to see what I'm capable of now, back on my home turf. I'm excited to see what dreams come to me next, now that I've tied a bow on this chapter.
I will say again that Ireland will never leave me.

I cannot tie it up in a bundle and move on, which is good because I do not want to move on from Ireland. As soon as the proper inspiration hits me, I'm confident that I would gladly get a tattoo, not for Ireland,

But to remind me of all the hope I found in the world.
I laughed with people from all over the world.
We ate together. We all brought everything we knew about family into one place, and we made a home in the little time we had.

I will never be able to sit on this blog and tell the whole story like I want to, as a narrator. Little things will continue remind us of the little things we forget.


Re-integration is difficult. Nobody wants to hear about it as much as you think they would.
I have a bunch of really good posts just sitting in my computer. I wrote them late at night in all of my worst states. There's so much more beyond those that I could never share right enough.

They warned us about that part. How people won't want to hear about everything. So, I'm not too disappointed. Stories fall out of me sometimes. I anticipate we will spend the rest of our lives recounting everything that happened.

I conclude, finally, with the words of my closest neighbor from my travels, and wish you all a good night,

"we walk around in ireland. study and travel. so many impressions are had and all of a sudden you're pushed back into the old structures. you find yourself in the same old spot and you fulfill your roles as if nothing happened. questions turn around how it's to be back, not what it was like away - or just briefly - and then you're back to old. which is nice too."