Nana & Papa

One of my favourite parts of our time in Malta (and Bill & Susan’s subsequent visit to Stirling) was seeing Liam with his Nana & Papa. The last time they saw him he was just starting to smile – now his little personality declares itself ever more each day. Nana & Papa showered him with affection and he reciprocated. Seeing them together made me appreciate all the more the beauty of family life. It didn’t take long for me to feel at home with the Marshall’s – they welcomed me warmly from the beginning – but just as my marriage to Brendan sealed the bond, so has bringing Liam into the family deepened it. Now I am not only united to them through marriage but I have produced, as Brendan so proudly puts it, an heir to the throne of Marshall!!! Of course getting married and having babies and continuing the family line happens all the time, and has for thousands of years – but for me these things have taken on new meaning through Brendan and Liam, and the Marshall family to which I now belong. These thoughts were brought home to me during our time with Nana & Papa.

Last week was a quiet one – both B and I were spent from our holiday (funny how that happens, isn’t it? You go away to relax and come home more tired! I suppose teething had something to do with it… But I’m certainly not complaining. I have no problem paying for a trip to Malta with a few days of post-vacation fatigue!) Bill & Susan stayed in Malta for a few more days after we left and then flew to London. After a short stay in London, they took the train to Edinburgh, where we met them on Friday. Brendan rented a car for the weekend so we would be able to do some sightseeing at our leisure. We showed our guests around Edinburgh on Friday and took them to St. Andrews on Saturday. St. Andrews, apart from being an important site in Scotland’s Christian history and a beautiful seaside town, is also the home of golf. Bill is a great golf enthusiast and seemed to enjoy himself immensely as we walked through St. Andrews Links.

Edinburgh

St. Andrews Links (Bill was telling us all about the course)

At the British Golf Museum 

Ruin of St. Andrews Cathedral

The next day we went to Mass and introduced Brendan’s folks to some of our friends at church. Brendan and Bill worked on Brendan’s thesis for a few hours that afternoon while Susan and I visited and played with Liam. That evening we watched the Masters – and I surprised myself by getting quite caught up in it! I had never watched (or played) golf before so Bill explained the game to me. I don’t know that I’d be interested enough to actually buy a ticket to a tournament (and certainly not rich enough!), but watching it on tv is more fun than I thought! Brendan had to urge us several times to keep our voices down so as not to wake Liam!

We said our goodbyes early Monday morning, and B drove his parents to the airport in Glasgow. Now it’s back to business as usual – until next week, that is. Holy Week is coming up, and then we have another trip planned, this time to visit the home of my great-grandmother in northern Scotland. And then it will be May, the month of our return to Canada! Where has the time gone?!