Pressed for Time...

...happens to be the name of one of my favorite Flook tunes, but it's also a rather fitting description of how I'm feeling right now.

I fly home on Friday. Friday. THIS Friday!?

Where on earth have the past three months gone?

Well, I'll tell you where... Dunbeg, Ennis, Galway, Shannon Airport, Rome, Florence, the Austrian Alps, Munich, Ulm, Venice, Normandy, Dublin, Rosscahill, The Burren, Ennistimon, Kilfenora, Inis Meain, Connemara, Limerick, Dingle, Cork, Edinburgh, Grantown-on-Spey, Loch Ness, Isle of Skye, Stirling... It's gone to The Crane, Tigh Coili's, Richardson's, Tigh Neachtain's, the Roisin Dubh, The Quays, Taaffe's, The Front Door, Cooley's House, An Droichead Beag, The Hi-B. It's gone to McDonough's, Dunnes and the Farmer's Market. It's gone into bangers, rashers and black pudding, and pint after pint of Guinness. It's gone into music, and friendship, and craic, as well as personal reflection and much-needed relaxation.

And yet, its not quite done yet. My last 4 days in town just got cut down into about 1 and a half, as one last mini-trek has been thrown together. Tomorrow afternoon, my friend Kimberly and I are heading to Dublin to see Riverdance. "On the way" back to Galway, we're going to head up north to see the Giant's Causeway, which is the number one thing left on my list of sights left to be seen in Ireland (of course, it's not the last thing on the list, so there will always be a new number 1). The route will take us through the Mourne Mountains, Belfast, Derry, and the five remaining counties of Northern Ireland that I have not yet been to.

It's also going to leave me with only Thursday afternoon to clean out my room and pack to go home. But I have no doubt it will be worthwhile.

While I'm definitely starting to bemoan how little time I have left to this particular chapter of my life, there is a great sense of excitement and anticipation that I feel towards being "home" again so soon and reconnecting with friends and family there.