Tricky Lineage

 I always feel conflicted on these days when we are asked to celebrate some aspect of our heritage, knowing that my stand here on this land is proof that those ancestors came to this land and displaced others who were indigenous to this land. I learned today from my Welsh brother that St. Patrick, slaughtered his people...and am reminded that I if I want to raise a glass to my Irish ancestors, I must make space to pay homage to those that were victimized and conquered by that same lineage.

Today, with the help of my sister, I have been digging through my Irish heritage that appears to originate in County Cappoquin in a town named Waterford, Ireland....a town nestled against the Blackwater River.....not sure yet when James Tobin, who would have been my great great great grandfather, born on 8/15/88 made the trek to the United States, but one of his sons Thomas J. Tobin, born in 1860 had 10 children, one of them my beloved "Gram D" (Mary Ellen) Tobin who was born in 1900 and left us in 1985. She had three children with James J Dougherty, my uncles Fr. James and Peter and my mom, Margaret Mary who would marry Thomas H Hodes.....and have me.
Today I hold in my heart these ancestors from Ireland who came to the United States to find a better life for themselves and their children and generations to come. And at the same time I pay homage to the Ute and Arapho nations whose ancestors cared for the land on which I Iive today in Colorado, were displaced by my ancestors, Irish and others.
Today I walk gently on this ground and give attention to all of it, the good the bad, the displaced, the travelers, the dreams that were never realized of those who lived this land before me those who cultivated seed they would never harvest....I hold all this nuance in my heart, my soul, my body, my DNA.....and continue to do my best to honor all of those that came before me.
Slainte'. Prost. Peace.