Wishing I stayed awake….

Niamh Lennon is the Irish spelling. Pronounced Neev. I know, it’s way off, right? Niamh is 42, married and from Dublin, Ireland. She was flying to Boston to catch a connecting flight home.

Niamh was stuck in the middle of me and a younger guy on the outside seat, who was very sweet and chatted with us some. Younger than me and Niamh anyway. For part of the trip, I was so tired and couldn’t hold my eyes open so I fell asleep for a bit. I asked Naimh to wake me when the snack cart came by. She did and I snacked on pretzels while asking her about the game she was watching. The first was a rugby game and then soccer.

Niamh’s wife will be here for two years working in Atlanta. She will travel back and forth to see her and hopes that she’ll be able to transfer her work here to be with her wife. They have been together for 17 years!! They were married after they were legally able and have been so for 10 years!

I wish I would of stayed awake the whole time! I could have learned so much more from Niamh. We spoke of my kids, her making the decision not to have kids, being an aunt to her brothers children and how it’s nice you can give them back. We laughed at that because it’s so true! She recognizes how hard it would be to be a mom! We spoke of my son, Oakley, and how he can play the guitar, piano and other instruments. She “ahhhed” that my kids were talented and that made me smile to talk about each of them. Even talking about how Cierra called me in the middle of the night to ask where Sassy’s, our dog, lit collar was.

And yes, she is kin to John Lennon. Her grandfathers second cousin or something like that. That was definitely not a bragging right for her, although it would of been for me!

She played trivia on her monitor as I watched realizing was pretty dang good!!! Definitely better than most. We talked about the weather and how beautiful and warm it had been. I’m not sure she was looking forward to going back to the dampness and cold in Ireland.

Niamh seemed simple, very humble, light hearted and as interested in my story as I was in hers.