Traveling seeker in British Isles

February 2, 2006

Found Family! (Part two)

I left the little jewel of a coffee shop and stopped and checked out a store that Patricia and Brian told me about. It’s the only place that you can get a newspaper – it’s called “newsagent’- they sell other stuff too, but no one else carries the newspapers. And trust me there are tons of different newspapers, from all over the world. I guess Ireland is so in the thick of things, they are involved in what all the other European countries are up to. I picked up the Mayo News; they told me it would have classified ads in it. I might come across one for live-in-help type ad. I didn’t, but I did see a single room, one minute from town center for 55 euros a week. But I need a job that pays me 55 euros’s a week! I’ll call tomorrow and see what’s up.

I went back to the Hostel. I wanted to think of what to do next. Of COURSE, I wanted to sit down and write to you all about my new exciting news. But I knew the day was still too early.

But I had to call SOMEONE. So I called Traci- she wasn’t home, but I did leave a message and I hope she was as happy as I was (I knew she would be!)

I decided to call Theresa Walsh. I fought with the pay phone and it finally won. I had to use my phone card to call locally! I said, hello I’m Kym McBride from America, your cousin, your daughter told you about me? She said, are you sure that you have called the right number? Here, Gerlyn never got the time to call her mother. I backed up a bit and said- I’m your cousin Mary Middleton’s granddaughter, Kym McBride from America. She was OH! Yes, Mary Middleton! She wanted to know where I was right now? I told her. You’re in Westport? Yes. She said, we have to meet, but I am going to the Garden something or other tonight in town and tomorrow I have a hair appointment and a dentist appointment…she was going over her schedule. She said, we’d have to do it on Saturday. I was disappointed, but then I realized that it was only the day after tomorrow. (Boy, you sure get messed up on what day it is when you don’t live by a calendar!) Then she said what are you doing today at 5PM? I said I would be at the hostel. She said that they would stop at the hostel and knock on the window and say hello. I was thrilled, they were excited to meet me and wanted to do it right away. I didn’t know “we” were, but I was happy to be important to whom every came to my door!

Alfia ended up coming in and we needed to go and wash down the men’s shower room. The renovations were completed and we had travelers coming in for the night. So I was up working when “dream boat” came up and said that two ladies were in the common room and they were not backpacker types. I was “OH MY- those are my relatives! And ran down the steps!

I came in and said I’m Kym, and gave Theresa a big hug. She introduced me to Mary, her son Liam’s wife. She then stepped back and said, let me get a good look at you, let me see if I see anyone in you. I have had that happen on and off throughout my life, when Aunts that haven’t seen you in a long time – and it is never comfortable. She said to Mary that I could look like so and so in England. She then turned to me and said, let’s go get a cup of tea and talk. This was great- but I was working with Alfia and we had people coming. They saw my reaction and asked if I could go? I said that I would ask. Ran up to Alfia and she said – of course go- go meet my family! (Alfia is a wonderful woman!)

I ran down and I was sweating! I was over heated and needed something to drink. We walked to at little teahouse and sat down. They got some sweets and tea and they bought me an orange juice. I was a nervous wreck! I was sweating and fidgeting and just couldn’t get relaxed.

Theresa wanted to know, how does all this fit? I figured she was referring to the same thing that her daughter needed to know, so I wrote out the same little diagram as we had done earlier. Then they could understand. Mary hardly said a word. I told them a bit about my Grandmother Mary, since Theresa had only really remembered her. She was saddened to find that she had passed on and the same with Grandpa. I don’t know if she really realized that there was such a big gap in her and grandma’s age. She probably had the same confusion that her daughter had with not being my cousin, but my mothers. I told her that Mary (grandma) had a bit of an Irish temper. This drew laughs from Theresa and she said, she doesn’t have a temper, does she? In Mary’s direction and Mary (who is very soft spoken) said, she did – a bit! This made Theresa laugh in embarrassment. They seemed to have a fine relationship this mother and daughter-in-law!

I told Theresa that I had her letters and her father’s letters scanned in my computer. I said that I loved her father. She looked at me a bit odd. I told her that for over 25 years I had cherished Johns letters and I had to come to the land that he lived on and loved. She said that the house they lived in was down the way. I said, I thought it was gone; you wrote that it had fallen into disrepair? She said it had, and they sold it to a German family. But they know a woman that has the key and she would let us in. I was thrilled! The house survived? I said that I would love it! And I’m a photographer and I would love to photograph it for the family!

She asked if I could come with them on Saturday? I said Yes- I think so (have to check with Alfia). She said that Mary said that she would pick me up. We decided on 11AM in front of the Hostel. HEY!!

She told me that John’s father (Michael Callaghan?) died when John was 12 years old and he was the oldest and had a hard time of it. I told her I didn’t know any of this. I just knew his fathers name and his mother’s name (Anne Mylott). And of course, I pronounced it wrong – all these years, I had been pronouncing it wrong! That’s just like me!

She said that their graves where down at a name I couldn’t understand, she was talking to Mary. Mary said, we could go there on Monday. I was like “really?” Saturday and Monday? Yes! We can go to the graves of Mary and Michael? Are they like in America with writing and such? Yes. Oh great, I can get a rubbing! Thank you so much.

I told them that I was so happy that I found family. That it has been very lonely living in a hostel. I felt so much emotion bubble up, I was tearing up and they saw. I was bit embarrassed- but they didn’t say anything, they just knew what I felt.

They had to run, Mary had a doctors appointment. I said thank you so much for everything, and I can’t wait to see you on Saturday. We hugged and I floated to the hostel. Happy that I had found family, but mostly because I found John’s family.

Kym

Tags: family, Ireland, Travel, Traveling, westport

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