Ne'er again to wander in search of spuds .
Do you know the worst thing about being Irish?
No. Not the rain.
It's emigration.
We are a small, island nation with a mainly rural economy and as such, we have traditionally found it hard to support our many children. (We breed a lot too)!
To use my own family as an example: My mother is a working-class Dublin woman. Out of her family of seven siblings, she has three sisters in Canada, one in North Carolina and a brother in New Zealand. She herself met my father - a fellow Irish emigrant - in London, England in the 1960's, where I was later born. We did return. But many never did. I currently have just one cousin on my mother's side living in Ireland.
(This does get cheerier, I promise. Bear with me)!
Flash forward thirty odd years ...
I started my own family in 2003, during a time of unprecedented economic prosperity. At last, Ireland was a vibrant place, where my children could thrive and grasp all manner of opportunity. By the time I was pregnant with number three, however, the global economy had crashed and we were yet again, peering out of the dark pit of recession. So that even before my daughter was born, while she was still in my belly, before I even knew her sex ....! I was petrified of her emigrating to Australia!! (No offence Aussies. It is just very far away)! Granted, I was full of hormones at the time, but this might give you some idea of the extent to which emigration as a concept is ingrained into the Irish psyche.
But now .... She has yet to emigrate. (She is only six). And I can see another way. A clearly defined path that I plan to walk ahead of all my children. To show them that an online business, harnessing their passions and energies, is infinitely possible. That yes, they can travel, to anywhere in the world and taste all that life has to offer. But if they want they can come back home. To the country of their birth. No enforced separation from family and friends.
No longer will my children have to go abroad in search of potatoes!
Tara
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Tara, Thank you for sharing. keep it up.
Thanks for your comment!
Tara