It wasn't a difficult decision to make. We were missing our daughter and having been back in Ireland for the summer proved to us that we needed to be nearer to her.
It was wonderful to have her with us in Turkey last Christmas but it takes so much time between buses, two flights, and two more buses. By the time she arrives and again on her return, she is tired and stressed from all the indirect travel. During the winter months there are no direct flights and inclement weather can often mean delays which cause stress.
My sister is also under a lot of stress. Her husband had an accident at work and will not be able to go back due to his injury. She works full time and when we Skype, I can see the extra stress is having a serious effect on her. With all of this in mind, we decided to return to Ireland for a year or so. We will go back for holidays as we did in years gone by and review things again next year.
We said our goodbyes to our house, neighbours and our three garden cats. I've given a supply of food and money to one neighbour who has agreed to feed them. I miss them so much already. Fingers crossed they will be ok. I worry about stray cats who will wander in and take the food. Poor Chico Shishman is a gentle nervous creature and he will run and hide at the sight of the big un-neutered male cats who can be very aggressive...
Chico Sishman in his usual spot on the mat outside the door. Felix is the tough guy in the foreground, not afraid of anything! He will survive. Pedro was of chasing crickets.
We had an early start. Up as usual before the alarm. I'm always anxious that I will oversleep but I never do! 4.45 a.m. It was still dark. I got out of bed and Mr. D was not long after. We had a light breakfast. I gave the cats one last meal just before our transfer company rang to say. " I'm your driver, I'm at your gate, take your time". Within minutes we had our small cases outside and the door locked. A quick goodbye to the cats and we were off to Bodrum airport for our flight to Istanbul.
Our second flight was from Istanbul to London and then a wait of five hours until our third flight to Dublin.
We arrived in Dublin and took a bus to the city center where it was cold and wet! I shivered as we walked to the Luas tram line where we got our last mode of transport which took us to our daughter's home. I rang the door bell, 18 hours since we started our journey in Turkey. It was wonderful to see her smiling face as she opened the door.
It was wonderful to have her with us in Turkey last Christmas but it takes so much time between buses, two flights, and two more buses. By the time she arrives and again on her return, she is tired and stressed from all the indirect travel. During the winter months there are no direct flights and inclement weather can often mean delays which cause stress.
My sister is also under a lot of stress. Her husband had an accident at work and will not be able to go back due to his injury. She works full time and when we Skype, I can see the extra stress is having a serious effect on her. With all of this in mind, we decided to return to Ireland for a year or so. We will go back for holidays as we did in years gone by and review things again next year.
We said our goodbyes to our house, neighbours and our three garden cats. I've given a supply of food and money to one neighbour who has agreed to feed them. I miss them so much already. Fingers crossed they will be ok. I worry about stray cats who will wander in and take the food. Poor Chico Shishman is a gentle nervous creature and he will run and hide at the sight of the big un-neutered male cats who can be very aggressive...
We had an early start. Up as usual before the alarm. I'm always anxious that I will oversleep but I never do! 4.45 a.m. It was still dark. I got out of bed and Mr. D was not long after. We had a light breakfast. I gave the cats one last meal just before our transfer company rang to say. " I'm your driver, I'm at your gate, take your time". Within minutes we had our small cases outside and the door locked. A quick goodbye to the cats and we were off to Bodrum airport for our flight to Istanbul.
Our second flight was from Istanbul to London and then a wait of five hours until our third flight to Dublin.
We arrived in Dublin and took a bus to the city center where it was cold and wet! I shivered as we walked to the Luas tram line where we got our last mode of transport which took us to our daughter's home. I rang the door bell, 18 hours since we started our journey in Turkey. It was wonderful to see her smiling face as she opened the door.
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