There was a break in the rain and we decided to explore our
surroundings. We loaded up the boys and just a picked a direction to
walk in. The moment we stepped out Chris found money on the ground. We
both laughed and agreed Leprechauns do exist, we found our little pot
of gold right there on the street. We collected a whopping thirty-six
pence. We both promised we wouldn't spend it. It was our luck. And we
were going to bring it home and pray it brought us blessings.
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| The Luck we Found in Ireland! |
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We passed a variety of little street corner shops, the capital, and the Titanic Memorial. We even made it all the way to the river. What a
peaceful and majestic river. You know the kind that you only see in
paintings that you wish you could experience. And I had the opportunity
to breathe in that moment. To feel it, to absorb it through my soul.
Noah loved being out and people openly spoke to him and admired how
cute both boys were in the wheelchair and tag along tandem chair we
attached to the back for Luke to ride jointly. It was a bit chilly and
we forgot to pack a blanket for Noah's legs so we hunted out a little
gift shop where we bought him a shamrock blanket to keep him warm. It
became his trademark while we were there. The little boy in the red
wheelchair with the shamrock blanket - that was our Noah.
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| Noah and his Shamrock Blanket | | |
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| The River |
The
shops are quaint and friendly. Chris and I agreed we would allow each
other to splurge and buy one thing for the each of us to bring back. I
picked a pair of really cute size 4 boots with sequins, Chris being the
conservative father that he is refused to spend much on himself and
bought a simple shot glass. Classic of his personality and wanting to
reserve all his pennies for his family. I knew he was wanting to give
extra to the boys so he bought them each a teddy bear from Ireland. We
bought Noah a titanic shirt and Luke chose himself a little backpack.
Our mini treasures.
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| Out little souvenirs from Ireland |
We explored the little corner stores that
they had, which were fairly typical of what you might find in the States
at a gas station store. Your essentials, and things to drink, and of
course all things Cadbury. I was in awe of how many daily papers were
available. It feels like in the States papers are a thing of the past
with online news. It was nice to hold several real papers in your hands
and read what was going on in Belfast. But I'm much the type of person
that loves to curl up with a paper and a hot coffee. I forgot how much
I missed those simple moments that I no longer could indulge in after
Noah was born. There is no time for the world to stand still for me.
Simple pleasures have long gone.
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| The Belfast Paper after the Upsee Launch! And yes there's a quote in there from me! |
The Titanic Memorial was one
of the things we got to pass and experience. Tragedies of such
magnitude always feel more real when you can touch each name that lost
their life. It some way it makes the numbers more personal. It's a really pretty
memorial, and done very nicely with a beautiful little garden. I loved
the feeling of everywhere we walked was pouring with rich history.
Every building seemed to have a story, every walkway and path traveled
itching to tell you secrets. I was enchanted as were my children and
husband. Noah giggled with excitement and really was our tour guide
expressing which direction he wanted to walk in. He led us to some
really great places. It was almost as if Noah had been there before.
And I'm not exaggerating. Noah was so content, so within his element
there. Luke likewise was a model toddler. His manners never wavered
and he was such a proper young boy. I'm so proud of them both as a
mother.
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| Garden at the Titanic Memorial |
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| Streets of Belfast |
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| Belfast Capital. Isn't it just grand? |
We were so sad to have to turn back to find the
comforts of our hotel, but in Belfast it rains rather frequently and we
never were able to master the art of telling which rain clouds would
pour and which ones would float by. The clouds there move fast and
swirl with wonder, leaving behind a smell of all things fresh and new.
Everything growing there is so happy, even the trees are covered with
green pretty moss.
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| Mossy Tree |
Upon returning to our room, we had a lovely
traditional Irish dinner at the hotel and settled in for the evening to
get ready for our next big day at the Leckey Factory in Lisburn,
Ireland.
Love,
Noah's Miracle by
Stacy Warden is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
