I’m sitting in my airport hotel in Dublin, at the end of an amazing journey that included 5-star hotels and lots of Irish adventures—rain and jaunty cart rides up the Gap of Dunloe, among other things. For the past three days, I was at a writer’s conference where we met with key editors from major magazines—very intense and powerful.

Today, I spent the day walking around Dublin, seeing the sights and singing Molly Malone with the other riders on a tour bus. It was a day like so many I’ve spent before, in a strange city, alone, but having fun. But I felt so excited to be going home tomorrow, back to my life with Landon.

For someone who was on her own for thirty years, working and being a mother, in and out of relationships, it still amazes and thrills me that Landon is out there, being my partner, even when I have temporary ‘flash backs’ to my old life, like I’ve had on this trip. This was the first time that I’d left him home at the farm—he has traveled many times for as long as a month and I’ve stayed home. So the tables were turned, so to speak.

It felt like I carried him along in my heart, tuning into him at different times of the day and night. I’d think, oh, now he’s sleeping. Or, oh, now I could maybe catch him on skype. My love for him felt like a warm glow inside, and it made me smile. I found myself telling my new friends about our love story, laughing and grimacing, depending on where I was in the story. They all loved the tale, especially the ‘happily ever after’ part.

When I talked to one of the editors from a major magazine about an essay about falling in love, her crisp response was ‘oh we don’t write about love’. Okay. I wasn’t sure how to respond, but I wanted to ask—and why in the world would you not write about love? Is it somehow taboo? Has love become one of those subjects, like sex and money, that is not brought up in polite company?

I don’t know the reason behind her response, but it makes me feel excited and reckless to know—hey—we’re writing about love! Because people need to know that it is possible, especially for people who struggled with it, like Landon and I did. We found our way through the maze!

My dad loved to say ‘Isn’t that grand?’ I think ‘grand’ is the right word here, because it means big and amazing and magnificent.

So very grateful that I can feel my love across the world and know that it is true and good and grand. Thank you for sharing in our lives. Blessings from Ireland, Diane

PS. Attaching some photos of kissing the Blarney Stone. It was a bit scary, but I did it—the 6-day training, all those years ago, was good training for it!