Sadmess

I awoke crying this morning from my dream.

I dreamt that my FIL had passed away. That wasn't what made me cry in the dream.

We were at my parents old house and moving furniture out. My Mum was there. I asked my husband if he told my Mum that Grandpa had passed away and he said he did not. How could he? She was dead.

I said no she's not she's right here at which point I motioned to her and he couldn't see her. Only I could. Only I could hear her. At that point I grabbed her arm and started leading her around the neighbourhood for a walk all the time balling my eyes out about nothing was the same since she was gone and how sad I was all the time. She just nodded and agreed with me. I just cried all the more and woke up sobbing. My husband even woke up and asked what was wrong.

Why couldn't she speak to me in my dream and tell me positive things to get me out of this sadness?

What's ironic is that when I started this post I intended to title it SADNESS but I typed SADMESS by mistake. It really is a sad mess which I want no part of and want to move on. I just don't seem to know how to or am able to bring myself to. Some days are better than others. This one appears to be one of the others.

Perhaps it's because it's Good Friday or because I watched Scrubs last night that she showed up in my dream. Those that saw Scrubs will understand.

Good Friday everyone.
Irish Church Lady (ICL)

Australia and Flying Doctors!

aka R'acquel has a great post up for the Cyber Cruise on the Leura and the Blue Mountains.

It got me thinking about my own family connection to Australia. Although I have never been, my oldest daughter has and here is some pictures from her trip below.

Other than that, I have a historical family connection with Australia on account of a first cousin who was married to an Australian Flying Doctor.

Her story is rather tragic, in that she died in a plane crash flying with him after being married only six weeks. Her name was Renee Burke, from Ireland. She died on October 22, 1953.

The pilot, Martin Garrett, died as well, though her husband, Dr. Timothy O'Leary, also from Ireland, survived. He went on to write two books, North and Aloft and Western Wings of Care about his experiences as a flying doctor.

Dr. O'Leary died in 1987 at 62 years of age. His focus was on doctoring in the outback, the isolated lands of inland Queensland and the Gulf country. As a member of the Royal Flying Doctor Service started by John Flynn.

Although an allure of a glamourous and exciting lifestyle made it easier to recruit new doctors, due to the remote and lonely living conditions, and sometimes dangerous situations associated with night flying, these recruits often did not stay on past twelve months. O'Leary did this for 27 years.

He spent his first five years at the Charters Towers post, which closed in 1972 (transferred to Cairns), and this is the basis for his first book, North and Aloft.

Thank you to Lori Harloe, of the Department of History & Politics, James Cook University of Nth. Qld for additional information I was not aware of from my own relatives.

As a child, I was very close to Renee's brother, my uncle Tony, who also had emigrated to Canada like me Mum. Although he lived with his family in another city, he would travel to Ottawa on business and I always anticipated his visits with great enthusiasm, as he always arrived with a bag full of chocolate bars while he and my parents stayed up all night, in typical Irish fashion.

Sadly he has passed on, and his wife. For a time we had stayed in contact. I met my second cousins, in fact my daughter is named after one of his children, Séana, and my niece shares the name with another daughter, Tara. His eldest, is named after his sister, Renee.

Thanks, Racquel, for helping me to dredge up this part of my story, which is really what this blog is all about, documenting my legacy. And thanks to you internets, who have made it down this post thus far!! LOL

Irish Church Lady (ICL)
Irish

THE BLOG NAME and BLOGGER IDENTITY MEANINGS

Sláinte ~ It’s only Me
from Irish Church Lady

I am an Irish-Canadian. Irish by birth from my Mum and a proud of it. No less proud than I am to be a Canadian. I am very fortunate to have dual citizenship and passports from both countries.

I'm also a Christian of strong faith but in need of great forgiveness. I am human and a sinner. That's why I go to church.

Hence the blog identity of Irish Church Lady or ICL

Sláinte - means "to your health" in Irish gaelic which you say when you toast with your drink. It's like 'Cheers' or 'Salud' or 'Skål'.

"It's only Me" comes from a common phrase spoken by me Mum and Auntie when they called each other on the phone. "Hi, It's only me" one would say to the other.

It's stuck in my mind for awhile now.

Probably because I have lost them both it means more to me now than before.

Irish Church Lady (ICL)
Irish