IRISHMAN FOR HIRE

The other night, Chloe, Josh and I sat out on our front porch and sang to the birds. We belted out as many tunes as we could think of and when we couldn’t think of any more songs to sing, we sang the songs a second time. It was a nice cool evening with a breeze blowing in off the water and from where we were sitting; we watched the sun set over Boston while we were having a little fun.

As it got later into the night, Stephanie came out onto the front porch and told Chloe it was time for bed. After a few rounds of hugs and kisses for Josh and I, Chloe headed off to her room with Stephanie. A little while later, Stephanie came back out onto the porch and told Josh it was time to get ready for bed as well. As he gave me a hug good night and headed into the house with Stephanie, I sat back with a huge grin on my face as I stared out over the marsh across the street from our home.

It all started in August of 2001, when our son Josh was born prematurely. He spent the first eight days of his life in the Special Care Nursery because his lungs had not yet fully developed. It was tough for us to watch him lying in an incubator with tubes down his throat so he could breath, feeding tubes in his arms, and monitors that were carefully checking all of his vital statistics. Luckily for us, Josh responded to the treatment rather quickly and was home in eight days.

Stephanie and I were happy, excited, tired, jubilant, in love, scared, and just about every other possible emotion in between. It was a tough time for us when Josh first came home from the Hospital. Stephanie and I were on pins and needles as we worried about a possible relapse that would put him back into the Special Care Nursery. But as each day passed, our fears gradually subsided.

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I want to thank everyone who has sent an email or a note over the past two weeks. Your kinds words of support and love at this time in our lives has been a blessing for the whole family.

This week, I am turning my site over to my son Joshua. Many of you have asked when I might start writing again and posting new content; the answer is “soon.” Stephanie and I have taken a step back from everything over the past couple of weeks and spent the majority of our time with the children and each other. But operations at Irishman For Hire will return to normal soon. Which brings me to my son Josh…

The day after my mother-in-law’s funeral, Josh met with his counselor. As she spoke to him about grandma and grief, she told him to tell her the story of how he was feeling about the loss of his grandmother. While he spoke, she wrote every word he said down on a piece of paper. When I read it later that day, my heart broke all over again. His words were sad, insightful, but most importantly, as I came to the end of his story, his words were full of compassion and love. I have always heard the expression, “Out of the mouths of babes.” Well, my six year-old floored me with the tribute he “wrote” for his grandmother.

This past weekend, Josh asked me if I would post his story on my website and share it with family and friends. After a lot of thought about his request; tonight, I am honoring it.

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Author’s Note: My Mother-in-law, Kathy passed away this week. This story was written three years ago and has not been shared until today; I would like to dedicate it in honor of Kathy. We miss you Kathy and as you loved to celebrate Holidays, it was a warm Fourth of July morning three years ago when I realized I had so much to thank you for!! Two of those reasons are mentioned in this article. Thank you Kathy for your love, your patience and guidance but most importantly, your friendship; especially your enthusiastic support for all of my stories. I loved sharing them with you. We all love you Mom and you will live in our hearts forever.

THE FOURTH OF JULY

I woke up to the sound of my youngest child, Chloe, fussing in her basinet. She was hungry and as I rolled over in bed, I saw Stephanie sleeping peacefully. The night before (the Third of July celebration in our town) had been a long night! We had fun with our friends during our annual barbecue, we saw an incredible fireworks display over our front yard, followed by more fun into the late evening and a little cleaning up afterward until we finally fell asleep long after midnight.

So five o’clock in the morning came earlier than usual and our six-week old daughter was hungry. I quietly snuck out of bed, picked up Chloe, carried her downstairs, started to heat up her bottle and changed her diaper. As I was waiting for the bottle to warm up, I looked out the window and saw that it was turning into an absolutely glorious morning. The sun was coming up on a quiet Fourth of July, the air was warm, and you could hear the birds beginning to bring in the new day with their songs of serenity.

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