Donegal Woman Author - Maria Rushe

No is a complete sentence.

You can say NO to things without having to add explanation.   

Add a ‘thanks’ if you wish, but only if you want to,

• Want …
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This piece was harder to write than I had anticipated.Why?

Because no matter what angle I approached it from, I found myself anticipating the need to be sensitive around the …
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“What is this MICA you keep tweeting about? Haven’t heard of this.” – a message from a Twitter/blogger pal in Dublin last week…

And so I realised that an issue …
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Begone bitches.

I hereby banish ye to the shelves of yesteryear, where one’s shoes with pointy toes and heels to one’s armpits are forever more sentenced to sit gathering dust.

…
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This year has been weird.And the whole idea of friendship has been weird too.

Many of us will say that we’ve had friendships change, for better and for worse.

We’ve …
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It’s World Down Syndrome Day.

It’s a day to celebrate the extra chromosome that makes some people just a little bit more special.

One of the first images I …
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From Mammy on Mother’s Day

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

I love you each second of every day.

And even when sometimes I grumble and …
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‘Make some time for YOU Mammy and have a relaxing bath’ say the instafluencers.

Well OK then!

An instaworthy bathing relaxation event is about to go down in Chez Mammy… …
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Maria the Mammy thinks…

Nope. 

Not a hope. 

Not sending them ANYWHERE NEAR schools. 

Need to keep them safe.

Can’t control things when they’re away from me.

Fuck the government …
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Mumpty Mumpty, up there on the wall…You look at your babies, both now grown so tallThat their uniforms probably won’t even fitWhen we finally get ourselves out of this shit.

…
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We’re all feeling it aren’t we?

I don’t think there is anyone on this green isle right now who can honestly say that this 87th Lockdown isn’t hurting a bit.

…
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The Great Outdoors: It’s not just “great” because it’s huge and gargantuous, it’s “great” in so many more ways than that.

Mountains, rivers, lakes and valleys… Our imagination takes us …
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Oh Look Darlings. It’s snow!Oh YAY!

Hurray! We shall frolic and flail in the snow, making snow angels and building snowmans while singing the Frozen songs, and then we shall …
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“Drive for yourself and let other drivers worry about themselves…” 

Words of wisdom from my much missed Granda Pops.  

He said these words to my Mum many times and …
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What a week it’s been eh?

We’re all feeling a bit incredulous really. This past few days, it’s felt like we are slowly sliding into chaos once again.

We’re trying …
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Mammy is offended…

Given that everyone is now allowed and encouraged to be offended by absolutely everything, I’ve decided to crack down on the lyrics of other Christmas songs which, …
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I LOVE it! I love everything about it.

I love the sparkle, the sounds, the smells, the smiles.

I love the kindness. I love how it brings out the best …
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“Surviving Christmas,” “Christmas Survival Tips for the Working Mum”, “How to Survive Christmas”…

I Googled these last night.

Some of the “advice” online is nothing short of HILARIOUS. I fear …
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HOW do you work with teenagers?”

I get asked this quite a bit.

My answer?Very easily actually.

Because ‘teenagers’ are wicked.

And let me tell you, since schools reopened, they’ve …
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1. I shall never shout at my child: 

Oh, you will, you know!  

Actually, it’s more a case of shouting at yourself really, because if you are having to shout at …
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Aren’t you lucky you have a job?

Aren’t you lucky you have your health?

Aren’t you lucky you can work from home?

Aren’t you lucky you don’t have to…fill in …
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Banana bread; I never actually did get around to baking one.

I did eat a slice that someone else baked, but that was the height of my lockdown success. 

Lockdown …
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Last week was a bumpy one.

Not only was it the girls’ first week back at school and my first week back at work, but it was also the week …
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Maria the Mammy…

Nope.Not a hope.Not sending them ANYWHERE NEAR schools.Need to keep them safe.Can’t control things when they’re away from me.Feck the government and their ineptitude.I don’t want them …
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So it’s time to finally get back into our grooves, however wobbly they may be this year, and return to normality and reality with everyone back to School, Childcare, activities …
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Once upon a time, the words “Let’s meet at soft play” instiled a sense of dread in me.

I hated it.

Gasp… yes I just typed that out loud… HATED …
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Now that we finally know that our little darlings will be going back to school, we can start to think about getting ready.

Maybe you are already organised.Maybe you have …
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“We’re going on da train Mammy.”

“Are we really?”

I do enjoy how much of a novelty the concept of a train is for my kids.Mini-Me will probably GET that …
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“We don‘t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.”

George Bernard Shaw

Over the past 4 months, playing has changed.

Our kids went from …
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“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” 

I’ve said these words more than a few times over the past few weeks. Mainly, because I found myself absolutely bricking it over …
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I haven’t learned a new language. 

I haven’t made banana bread. 

I haven’t decluttered my house. 

I haven’t painted the house. 

I haven’t organised my life.

I haven’t sorted my …
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Mammy likes rollercoasters. I like theme parks. 

But we’ve all been landed into a theme park that we had not planned to visit, and it seems that we all have …
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Every year, I teach Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’, whether it’s on the course or not.

I love it. And I love passing his wisdom on to my students. …
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We’re all so looking forward to the lockdown being over and to returning to “normal”… but I’ve been wondering how much of this we will eventually miss.

Now, don’t get me wrong. …
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“Mammy, when this is all over…”, Mammy will need to have won the lotto.

I hear this line at least 5 times a day, from both of the girls.

And …
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Tinterweb is currently full of Instahuns and Twitsickles telling us all that we must use ALL of this time to do ALL of the things that we have ALWAYS  wanted …
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WHISPERS ON THE WIND

Two little sisters played on the beachAnd just when their parents had stepped out of reach,Wee Sis asked Big Sis in quiet hushed words,“What’s …
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What a week it’s been eh?

We’ve all found ourselves slowly sliding into chaos. And even for those of us who hoped it’d all pass and gently laughed it off, …
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“Where do you find the time?”

“How can you be bothered?”

“It can’t be worth that much work?”

Here we go again!

Musicals.

I’ve been on stage my whole life, …
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Recently, the Dolly Parton challenge’ circulated Instagram where everyone posted four different images; How they look on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Tinder. 

Each showed how their profile picture on …
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“Your Mammy doesn’t work.” or “Your Mammy doesn’t have a real job”.

I remember hearing this a few times as a child and as a teenager.

I remember not thinking …
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I’m brushing my youngest’s hair and we’re chittering away. 

‘You’re my beautiful Baby girl’ I say as I kiss the top of her inexplicably fuzzy head when I’m done.

…
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I’m not one for New Year’s Resolutions. You all know that I hate the ‘New Year, New You’ rhetoric. I hate the constant stream of “You need to change” and “You …
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Tis the season for bling and rings and it’s our wedding anniversary so I’m wedding on the brain! 

The Him and I got married on a Wednesday, over Christmas in …
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Before the onslaught of New Year, New You Bullshit starts, let me remind you of a few things…

Yes, January 1st is an obviously good starting point for new beginnings …
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As the season of festive joy and frollicks descends upon us, so too can the stresses and responsibilities of trying to everyone happy. 

So remember, No is a complete sentence. 

…
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Good afternoon!

I do hope that we all woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. It’s time to repost Mammy’s rules for surviving the Christmas party (which unfortunately Mammy …
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I am offended…

Given that everyone is now allowed and encouraged to be offended by absolutely everything, I’ve decided to crack down on the lyrics of other Christmas songs which, …
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It’s the weekend of Toy Shows and trees for many…So I am posting my Christmas Survival Guide for the Mary of the Poppins types…

“Surviving Christmas,” “Christmas Survival Tips …
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When a 6 year old asks a question, sometimes, it makes us think. We begin by explaining it to her in the simplest terms possible, and in doing so, sometimes …
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