Citizen of the world

I haven't written in a long time. I continue to follow the stories and support the Ukrainian people in any way I can. But I got too frustrated. Frustrated with the world for doing so little. Frustrated with Russia for its bullying ways and the Russian people for believing the ultimate balderdash. How could they be so gullible? Yet, there are many bigger things than that underway. War is the word.


Watching the mass migration of people out of the Middle East into Europe reminded me so much of my parents' struggle to leave Ukraine and reach safety in the WW II Stalinist era. My heart goes out to those people. They've been walking for days and weeks, some for months. My family traveled for years as displaced persons leaving a land they loved, not because they wanted to but because they had to.  I understand this plight. There is no easy solution.

And here I have come full circle.  Having been raised European in America, I have now lived in Europe as an American where I have found great comfort for seven years.  Today I applied for citizenship in my home state of Ireland.  If accepted, I will become a dual citizen of the US and Ireland, essentially an intercontinental resident. That's an extraordinary thing in this day and age, to be able to count the EU and US as my home.

If accepted, I will humbly honour this privilege. And count my blessings in this truly messed up world.

I wonder what my parents would have thought? I think they would have liked the idea. After all the Irish and Ukrainians have a lot in common as my mother said, "The Irish like potatoes, The Ukrainians like potatoes. The Irish like to sing, The Ukrainians like to sing. The Irish like whiskey, the Ukrainians like vodka. Yes, they have a lot in common." After all,  new evidence suggests the Celts rose up first in what is now Ukraine. So basically it's the Celts who migrated all that way first. And they have continued the migration for centuries. We all have much more in common than we know. And yes, I feel at home in Ireland.