Today is our day

The month of August may have got its name from Agustus but I think the Irish name for August gives the character much better - Lúnasa.  The 1st of August is the festival of Lúnasa when the Celts would give sacrifices to the god Lugh to ask his blessings for good weather throughout the month to gather the harvest. 

Most of Ireland's reeks were climbed and sacrifices were given to Lugh and they reckon that's what started the climbing of Croagh Patrick now on the last Sunday before Lúnasa. The gathering of families and clans in Lúnasa is still a strong tradition and certainly the Barony of Erris swells with all the family coming home like we used to as kids.

Six years ago today would have been like any other day and now the significance of today is hard to put into words. Overwhelming, sad, joyful, lucky - I don't know but it now feels like the tread that holds all the pieces together.

My gentle, loving dad died leaving a hole in our family and our hearts. He died before we moved back to Belmullet and I often wonder what her would have said when we told him we were moving back. He loved to be here by the sea and we would come like so many in August to visit as a family packed into our VW camper van adapted for five girls and smuggling the dog over on the ferry. 
His illness brought me back from my travels many times that summer and I would always get  a visit from a 'friend' who popped up the 3 hours from Essex to meet for lunch. A delayed bus, a missed flight and a snap decision to swap the Cairo suntan for the Essex fake tan worked out quite well. We were engaged by Christmas!

My sister then got very sick and we were faced with the decision to get married in August when she could be there or to do it another time. So we went for August. But deicing that in February limited our options to the 1st of August. I agonised over this for months but on the day it felt right and we were all there as a family. And I am very proud to say that my sister is this August representing Canada in the transplant Olympics - how is that for a recovery! 

Our first Christmas as a newly married couple we got told Tom was being made redundant, not what you expect in the oil and gas industry. A small article in the western people came via email from a cousin in Belmullet and the week of our first anniversary we moved lock, stock and barrel to Ireland.  

You would think for one day of the year that's eventful enough but after deciding to open my business, picking out the premises and very optimistically thinking we would open in May, The ESB eventually allowed us in on the 1st of August. Last year we celebrated the birthday of the shop by having a great party, the sun shining in the back yard of the shop and our anniversary dinner was eaten with heavy eyelids. 

This year we moved and we hand back the keys of the old premises today but I don't feel sentimental about it. I love the new place and it's more like the image of the business I wanted from the start. 

So today I will have dinner with my wonderful husband who left for work very early this morning which is why I'm up writing this. I'll do a little something to remember my dad and have a glass of something to toast another good year in the shop. I might even pay homage to the god Lugh in the hope that he brings us some good weather for the rest of the month but most of all I'm planning that the 1st of August this year I can just appreciate how today is a pretty important day for me and so if you ever wondered why we are called Lúnasa, wonder no more.