1:49am in Rathfriland, Northern Ireland

Some music before I attempt to sleep in this little cottage in the village of Hilltown, Northern Ireland. I searched ‘February’ in my iTunes and am listening down the list of songs with this month in their title.

February regularly proves itself a challenging month. It’s the mid winter. The weather. The waiting.

Ireland isn’t under snow. Neither was Tennesee. Half my February has been warmer than usual which has taken the weather challenge away. My other February ghosts are quiet, dare I say gone. I don’t question.

Every year end I beg for the next one to be new, not by number but by everything else. I think I’m at the helm of this one and am learning to find the wind. I ask for help. Less shame, less fear, more desire.

I love the porridge in Ireland. Just something about it. And I love that there is no shortage of tea or kindness. I think I’d like to live here for a time, learn the accent and buzz around the tiny maze roads, sleep among the sheep. Something about this place makes me want to lean in.

In my player: Jenn Grant – Honeymoon Punch, Lori McKenna-Lorraine, Carmen Townsend – Waitin & Seein, Olympic Symphonium – The City Won’t Have Time to Fight, FRED

Read and reading: True Names of Birds – Sue Goyette, Tinkers – Paul Harding

rose