Almost Royalty...

I hung out with the President of Ireland today.

OK, so maybe that's an exaggeration, but I did shake her hand and have a wee conversation about how lovely Virginia is (she and her husband have spent holidays there). She (Mary McAleese) came by FS for a bit as a part of our 10th anniversary celebrations. She shook our hands and spoke with the women's group for about 20 minutes and then came into the sanctuary and gave a 15-20 minute speech without notes. It was interesting, intelligent, unscripted and felt just like she was having a conversation with a room full of people. She talked a lot about the Wall as failure, and how she also envisioned a future without the wall and a shared island of friendly neighbors. She grew up in the Woodvale and went to school in Belfast, so it seemed as though she were really talking from the heart. She specifically addressed the kids and just appeared to be a super sassy cool woman (and her boots rocked). M was the photographer for the event, and he says he got a good shot of me chatting with her and her husband. I will post it when I get it!


Santa visited the afterschools today. Too cute. The kids were fabulous, asking all about his reindeer and how they fly and what they eat and where they've seen Santa. It was good fun.