Routine? Check.

Today was mostly uneventful, and by mostly, I mean not at all. This is a good thing. In the past two days I think I have fallen into my routine and am comfortable in it. I am still very tired at the end of the day, which I can only attribute to lingering jet lag. I went to bed at 8:30 last night and was utterly happy to do so. I opted not to run early this morning as it was a misty morning and it makes the sidewalks slippery. I have never been one that people would call graceful, agile perhaps but not graceful, so I'd rather not run the risk of twisting an ankle on the rain soaked streets. My feet are invaluable tools here in Dublin.

I did get up a little early to make breakfast and watch the news. I noticed that the news people here are not as glamorous as the ones in the states. To say this is not a criticism, just an observation. The people on TV here are delightfully real. Turn on Fox News and pay attention to the beautiful people that deliver the news; you will notice that 90% of the females are gorgeous and many are former beauty queens. No wonder some girls in America grow up feeling less than they what they are and feel they have to adhere to an unattainable ideal of beauty. I have noticed the same thing with commercials here. Since I am an avid observer of people, I have noticed that there is a confidence in these European women that women in the states lack. Today, two of the female students (the study abroads at the school are American) walked into Colum's office and he asked one if she had a late night and she quickly responded, "Why? Does it look like I had a late night?". The other defended herself for wearing sweats to school without anyone asking why she did so. We are terribly defensive. I can be placed in the same category. But, as I spend more time here I am realizing that I don't have to apologize for who I am or what I wear. I hope I can bring more confidence back home with me and share it with the kids. I am lucky that Robert has the art of confidence down for the most part. And I can certainly see that this reflects in both the boy and girl (although one possesses it more than the other). RC doesn't worry about trivial things; we balance each other out quit nicely. He takes me off the crazy train regularly. What would I do without him?

The weather turned out to be very nice today. A Texan's dream, really. My walk home included sunny skies with a cool breeze, probably about 60 degrees or so. As I passed by one building a group of girls walked out and one commented on how hot is was. I couldn't help but to smile--Texas has been in the mid 90s. I am enjoying a reprieve from the West Texas summer. Well, it is 7pm already, 1pm there. Time to read some more, maybe watch a movie and wait on my three dears to get home for our Skype date.

Side note: I have been comma happy lately. My apologies. Wait....I don't apologize. Deal with it. :)