Here’s a lovely treat for you today: a post by my friend and neighbor, Jo, that will make you want to hop on the very next plane to Ireland. Also check out an exciting opportunity in the PS!

The Lovely Fields by Jo Toale (2019)

I went home to a place I’ve never been.  Mountains confronted the sea, with only small boxy cottages dividing the two.  Roads were narrow with sheep crossing, slowing the pace of a racing mind.  Passing a sign that said, “Amazing Grace Country” didn’t do the landscape justice.  The dewy air and the weight of dramatic clouds loomed over you, up and over a mountain gap, winding and forbidden.  The village below a world away, covered in drizzle and filtered light.  Quiet and content.

From afar, white dotted meadows speak another language.  The bleating is absorbed into your subconscious like music you can’t get out of your head.  Tractors bounce through the country roads, looking like they have no place to go.  The terrain is rocky and rough, smelling like an earthen musk with hints of heartache.  She lost so many to America.

All my grandparents wanted to leave the lovely fields.  Poverty was a shadow that walked next to them every waking hour.  A better life seemed possible, seemed real.  I walked the damp fields, feeling happy that I was able to marry stories of childhood with this place.  A true connection was born, not imagined.  My tender heart finally found my ancestors, who had been waiting for me to come home.

Ireland.

PS – Jo is the creator and curator of the writing blog, Dilettante Life: a Writer’s Space, and she is LOOKING FOR WRITERS! Visit HERE and you’ll see how you can join me and other writers in sharing stories and inspiration on Dilettante Life. We hope you’ll join us!

Photo by Jo Toale