I lay on a lime green lounger and pondered the rest of my life. I have always spent a lot of time supine–most of my best decisions are made lying down. In fifteen years, I’d be seventy. I didn’t want to grow old with worry and regret. At home in Washington DC, my grown children lived by themselves. Back in Ireland, I no longer had parents to fret about. I was free to go – well, anywhere. I should seek adventure before my arthritic knees gave out, and my arteries clogged.
I would have to work of course, but travelling the world might be cheaper than continuing to commute into Washington DC, paying for dry-cleaning, and keeping a refrigerator stocked with bags of salad I never meant to eat. Since I was on holiday in India – on a beach in Goa–I decided to channel Dame Judi Dench in the guise of Evelyn Greenslade in Best Exotic Marigold Hotel—except I didn’t want to live with other expats. How could I wear floaty clothes, and a serene expression, while indulging a desire to taste, feel, smell, see and hear the most beautiful things in the world? I’d have a beer and a biryani and then I’d get started. This would be my Marigold Moment.
I ended up in Armenia – I had to look it up online when the offer came – sandwiched between Georgia and Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan and on speaks with only two of those. Armenia had a revolution in Spring 2018, a bright spot in 6,000 years of troubled history. Armenia provided the inspiration for some of the acrylic paintings now featured on this site, and for my upcoming memoir, Come, Sit, Eat.
I now live in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia where I write, paint, cook, swim and play Scrabble. I will travel again when that’s possible. In the meantime, I seem to have unwittingly retired.
Marigold Moment 