Curly-Haired Irish Girls

The Irish girl appears at first glance to be naïve, flirty, and free-spirited.

She loves having a good time and will leap boundaries in search of adventure.

Adorned with the sparkle of smiling eyes and a mop of wayward curls,

She frequently calls upon wit and humor to diffuse the heavier moments of  life.

If you find yourself lucky enough to win and keep an Irish girl’s heart,

She won’t float off with the wind chasing rainbows for greener grass or pots o’gold.

Valuing true love above all other treasures of this world,

She believes it's never good for the heart, health, or fortune to say no to Love.
Upon discovering this love she will be inclined to hold onto and cherish it forever.

However, she will only accept rejection and defeat in it so many times,

Once her heart has been broken or love says no to her,
She eventually learns to reconcile, and that letting go will salvage herself.

She can and will love fearlessly across the divides of time and distance,

For she's been taught by the example of cherished kin that loving and living with all her heart,

Means accepting whatever comes her way with bowed grace and dignity.

She knows placing her bet against the odds in love is never scorned by the Irish, only deeply respected.
And finds there is vital necessity in the sweeping change that
Leaves waves of angst and regret behind while stopping the growth of stone over her heart.

The Irish girl learns to value the truth from trial and error, even when it's heartbreaking.

She discovers it will protect who you are while creating who she will become.

She’s tremblingly aware her heart is hanging out for the entire world to see.

Yet, is bolstered by knowing if she wins or looses, she will survive every round,

Because to be Irish is to be imbued with a cheeky disposition and smart humor

That allows her to firmly embrace trials while seeking joy around the next bend in every road.

She tends to pour herself cheerfully, but not naively into others without reservation

And her happiness spills out with curb-hopping and other fickle whimsies.

However beware! Her intensity is not limited to the realms of lighter moments.

For she lives her life similar to that of the wild horse infused with unbridled passion.

If you rouse her anger, she’s prone to hurling litanies of curse words faster than her prayers.

And splitting her heart will send rivers of tears flowing directly into your ocean.

She requires strength and loyalty to ground her floaty, free spiritedness,

But won't take kindly to having her intelligence diminished or passions smothered.

If you attempt to extinguish her life fire with perceived or intended cold cruelty,

She’ll warn you before sounding war against you with hot fires of raging fury,

Then she will pray that God will soften her heart and lure yours away from the fight,

For goodness grows by the fire with her and she's not inclined to be a martyr on all battlefields.

The Irish girl will not live without the passion she requires for her life fire to burn.

And she may warn you rather abruptly if the fire at home needs fuel or the well begins to run dry,

She will willingly burn what she has and doesn't have to give for you and herself if she must. 

Her dreams and heart were born amidst the storms of life and both hold true in heavy winds,

And will have no regrets tethering her dreams to yours if she sees you've lost your way.

She found she's rather good at holding hands and seeking lost treasures in all sorts of weather.

She is a strong believer of second chances,

And will be the first to wholeheartedly admit she’s needed them a time or two.

When you hold onto her heart with sincerity you’ll receive many of them freely.

Those who cause her unintentional hurt will be quickly forgiven,

But if you dare to take advantage of her vulnerability or loves without honor,

She’ll pray God mercifully turns your heart before your ankle so you'll not be seen limping forever.

The Irish Girl can and will draw lines in the sands of time.

She knows exactly who she is and will be sure you know who she is too.

Fighting for her family rises above all else in life, including herself.

Mama bear or an army of ghosts are no match for the secure faith of the Irish Mother.

For she comes to the fray donned with Patrick’s Breastplate and her grandmother’s rosary in hand.

She's prepared to perish in such battles because she's certain Jesus has already won The War.

The Irish girl is certain to be an emotional rollercoaster you encounter on the banister of life,

And you won't escape the experience of extreme highs and lows with her at your side.

Her compassion will always offer you a chance to jump off before the ride begins,
Because she recognizes dignity is the key to staying firmly planted upon one’s horse.

She won't be irresponsible with the exposure of your armored affections,

But will never hesitate to fiercely protect her own affections from your irresponsibility.

Despite all of her strength and loyalty in love,

Her greatest strength is always going to be her greatest weakness.

Her heart definitely has a mind of its own even though it's been wired to her own mind.

She's learned from repeated failure to kneel and toss out pride in the muck and mire,

Because that is where hearts learn to flow with grateful love for Jesus, failures, and forgiveness.

She's certain God sent confession as a gift to save the world from flaming hearts like hers.

The Irish girl knows how to belong to herself and accepts God will send her where she belongs.

She doesn't fear the hanging of laundry with friends or looking at it for more than a moment,

And may even call it pretty because dirt can be washed away without changing the weave of the fabric.

She knows it's important to own up to her flaws before she calls you out on yours,

And acknowledges that despite all of her graceful efforts to be dignified and queenly,

She's simply a wayward lass who longs to roam the countryside long after the dinner bell rings.

If you have the good fortune of being cherished in the golden heart of an Irish Girl, 

She’ll consider you and yours as close as kin and always back you up with prayer.

If she calls you A Chara, she will be the truest of that tender endearment.

Her only price is honesty, respect, fair warnings, and the ownership of your mistakes.

She’ll never require life with you to be a delicate bed of thorn-free, hybrid flowers.

She happens to have a strong preference for the wild variety she may prick her finger upon.

In loving memory of my grandmother, Mary Jane Noon Hurne and great-grandmother, Mable Flanagan Noon.
The Irish Women who will always be cherished in our hearts.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Snow Globes & Plastic Bubbles: Why I Write

     Do you remember those red vending machines that used to be at the front of every grocery store, drug store, and restaurant?  The ones brimming full of those plastic bubble encapsulated treasures we used to covet as kids?  In went our hoarded pennies, nickels, and dimes, and out popped a handful of kaleidoscopic sugar or some prize we would carry around with us for a day until it was broken or lost in the haste of running off on a new adventure.  The plastic bubbles were dropped, accidentally stepped on, or tossed in the trash by our mothers when they were cleaning house.

     Our lives are full of plastic bubble moments that fade quickly or get left behind in the chaos of running forward.  While we speed forward through one season of life into another, tackling school, jobs, marriage, and family, we travel across a land strewn with plastic bubbles.  In plastic bubble land, moments, people, and words get tossed out, casually overused, and cheapened.  So why do we write at all or bother with putting our two-cents into the massive ever growing word machine in e-space?  Possibly we are still holding onto more than plastic bubbles with child-like hope and praying that every once in a blue moon some breath taking beauty will take shape and pop out instead.  Something more like a snow globe.

     You see, our lives also contain definitive sparkly moments we cherish just like one of those snow globes our mothers would pull out of boxes before Christmas and then place upon a shelf or windowsill where it could be kept safely away from inquisitive chubby hands.  My mother had one she kept in her bedroom.  I relished the feel of stealing away from chaos and chores into the forbidden territory on tip-toe so I could sit on her tidy bed in the tranquil coolness, twist the knob underneath, and listen to a dreamy tune while I breathlessly watched sparkly bits float and drift around the scene illuminated by the starry, stranded lights outside her snowy window.  It not only gave me a moment to breathe, but the time also connected me with my hopes and dreams for the future with the eyes of a child.  We all have moments in time, people, and places we cherish in our hearts like this.  Every now and again we need to unpack our memories, brush the dust off, and shake them around so we can keep in touch with ourselves and listen to the tune of an older season gone by.

Where do I begin?

     However, as we mature, we realize we will have to navigate and negotiate through a vast ocean of memories and moments.  Precious time slips through our hands like sand slipping through an hourglass and sometimes we find it necessary to choose what we will hold onto and what we will let go of as we are swept forward.  Knowledge comes at us in short bursts and long painful climbs.  Along the way our collection multiplies, tucked away for safe keeping in the hallowed halls of our hearts and memorial chambers of our mind.   We will more than likely come across places in time that we discover we must pause and clean house to make room for growth and lighten our load.  A daunting task, we can struggle with knowing where to begin sorting through it all.  Somewhere in the middle of our messes God patiently shows us what to let go of and what to hold onto.  We eventually learn to see the difference between cheap plastic bubbles and cherished snow globes.

Ingenious artwork by Camryn Forrest Designs

 

      I've been writing ever since I was a little girl.  As an adult my childhood love has become more than a hobby.  It is a link to Jesus, the cornerstone of my life, as well as a personal touchstone.  Most of the time I write to vent out whatever gets trapped inside the spaces within so it doesn't stay bottled up, bobbing up and down uselessly inside of some restless ocean in my heart.  Other moments I write for the delight of holding onto lovely snow globes in my own life.  It challenges me to cough up my two-cents while it gives me a chance to steal away for those slower moments in a usually hectic life, much like I used to do as a child.  Writing has given me a way to reflect upon lessons of the past and who God is calling me to become.  My life, as yours, has been littered and blessed with collected moments I have needed to clear out or have another look at.  I pray you are able to enjoy all of the moments of your life and whatever they have in store for you.  I hope that here you may find a word or two that helps you navigate through your own world of plastic bubbles and cherished snow globes.

~Shaunda M. Eck~