MUSINGS Three weddings and a mascara

Diary of a home bird
Ciara Galvin

TALK of the weather, holiday plans and a possible early election were all replaced this summer with wedding talk. ‘How many do ye have?’ and ‘Well ye’re fairly being hit with them this year’ are the most common lines heard.
In the midst of having three weddings in four weeks, weekends have been a little hectic.
The first wedding of the three was that of my beautiful cousin Lorraine, in Bunratty.
Hair and makeup booked, I thought I was all sorted until the week before, when the female roomie informed me that we would be leaving ridiculously early (in my opinion) for the 1pm Mass, forcing me to change my beautifying appointments.
Appointments rearranged, and gladrags on, the male roomie commented, “You’ll have to have an evening wedding when you get married. Get a good run at the day to get ready.”
Anyway, we arrived without incident to the church … 40 minutes early. I mean seriously, we were there before the groom.
We decided to grab a ‘quick’ coffee in a nearby town. Alas, the publican was fresh out of coffee and had to pop out to what felt like Brazil to grab a jar.  
Being the classy gal I am, while I sat at the bar, I enlisted the help of the female roomie for proper headpiece placement.
Finally the brew arrived, and we quickly slurped it down. In the end, we were left rushing to the church, and just managed to slip into our seats before the bride walked up the aisle!
The following weekend, the second wedding was once again a dash to the church. Despite being a stone’s throw away in the beautiful Ballintubber Abbey, we were late, thanks to a friend’s ‘costume change’ … and a makeup issue thanks to moi.
While stuck in traffic on Main Street, Ballinrobe, and beyond fashionably late, I realised I forgot to put on mascara. All you women reading this will hopefully understand the dilemma. Spotting the male roomie chatting to my cousin on the street, I shouted from the moving car ‘Dad any chance you’d grab me a mascara?’ (For the record, he was working in the nearby pharmacy.)
My tendency to wind the male roomie up every now and again backfired on me badly. He replied with a laugh and a sarcastic ‘Of course I will’. After another four attempts to explain that I was actually serious about the mascara, said item was delivered straight to the car courtesy of Dad’s colleague.
Now, with the third wedding taking place this Friday, I’m not taking any chances. No coffee stops, and I’m going to get my makeup done – or at least have Pops on standby.

In her fortnightly Diary of a Home Bird column, Ciara Galvin reveals the trials and tribulations of a twenty-something year old trying to get used to living away from her parents.