The greatest man I never knew...

I always wanted to be one of those girls who had the best daddy. The kind of daddy who took you out at weekends for special days out. Who was overprotective, because he cared. Who you could turn to when things got rough, and the kind who could make it all better with a hug. You know the type...I don't know if they exist in the real world, or if they're just something that someone dreamt up, but I wanted that.

We don't always get what we want though, do we?

So, what's prompting this blog? Well...I had dinner with him this evening. Not a big deal, you might think, apart from the fact that it was the first contact we've had since just before Christmas..

We met, we sat, we ate, and we chatted, but it was different somehow. I couldn't feel any father / daughter connection. It was like two distant friends meeting after a long time, catching up, each telling stories, neither really listening to the others. It wasn't unpleasant, but it's not something I couldn't live without. Perhaps the most shocking (and least shocking in a weird way) was the realisation that even after all of that time, I didn't really miss his presence all that much..

What does that say about me as a daughter??

Mixed and muddled up..

Is it normal to miss someone that you have no desire to see on a daily, or even weekly basis?

Surely it's strange to love someone that you dislike immensely? (hate is too strong a word for this instance..)

It can't be right to want to cut someone completely out of your life, while the thought of doing it is impossibly hard to bear, surely?

It's fucked up to dread hearing from someone, but to long for just a text or a voicemail to let you know that they're ok and they know and care that you're still alive and well, right?

Isn't it ironic that the one thought you shove out of your mind and close the door on is the one thought that finds the only open window and climbs in at the most surprising moments?

(Isn't this just one of the most stupid blog posts you've ever read??)

Here comes the bride...

Traditionally, at a wedding, the bride is supposed to be late. Well, yesterday, me and various members of my father's side of the family broke this tradition, by being half an hour late! Oops...

As weddings go, this one was lovely. Despite being in a church (vile, evil places of sin!) The bride was stunning, the groom was...well..he had a lovely suit! The choir were fantastic, albeit a bit fond of the aul westlife! We were serenaded with Flying Without Wings, The Rose, You Raise Me Up...sensing a pattern here? They were amazing though, I had goosebumps from start to finish! 

We then waited outside for the wedding pictures to be taken by the arsehole of a photographer. I was heard to gripe 'who's fucking wedding is it anyway?' numerous times! I could think of far better things he could be doing with his camera (but I'm too much of a lady to say that!!)

On to the hotel, which was many many miles away, down the Naas road, and into...emm..some hotel that I can't remember the name of! We were left to stew in some room upstairs for about 3 hours before dinner was served. In the course of which a woman got stung by one of the many wasps buzzing around, and we were regaled by a magician who looked like a Status Quo reject! 

Then on to dinner! We were shoved at a table down the back, shunned! We were encouraged to drink far too much (there were little teeny buckets on the table with Lifeline and Solphadene in them) and to gamble (bets on how long the speeches would go on for!)

The food was...well..less than impressive! It didn't help that I was sitting beside my auntie the chef, (Iceberg lettuce in a Caesar salad!! The soup needs cream!!)..

When that was all finished, the fun began!! On to the speeches! Yours truly had a bet on 45 mins, stopwatches were started, and off they went! First, father of the bride...a grand total of less than a minute...and it snowballed from there. 19 minutes in total! A shambles!!!

At this stage, I'm fairly well on and everything is hilarious! There are rumours of an ABBA tribute band...and 2 hours later, when the band finally started...no ABBA!! 60's music!! I danced, I sat, I drank, I danced, I sat, I drank...

Fun times had by all!