An Ode to Being Irish

Happy Saint Patty's Day!

St. Patty's Day inspired me to get more in touch with my Irish roots. My ancestors hail from the Emerald Isle, if you can't already tell by the name: Caitlin Bevin Doherty. This gave me a starting place: The name "Caitlin" means "pure" in Gaelic (Gaelic is "Old Irish," kind of like what "Old English" is to us) and evolved in Ireland from the Ancient Greek name "Aikaterine" or "Catherine" as we know it today. "Bevin" means "melodious one" and "fair lady," but it also means "daughter of Brian," which is my dad's name. In my family, the tradition is to give sons the middle name "son of [dad's name]" which you do in Irish by putting "Fitz" before the father's name. For example, my brother's middle name is "FitzBrian" ("son of Brian") and my dad's middle name is "FitzJohn" ("son of John").  My parents thought it was special to extend the tradition to their daughter as well as their son.

The Doherty Family Crest

The name "Doherty" comes from the Dochartach dynasty, which can be traced back to the 455 AD when the High King of Ireland, Conall Gulban, founded the kingdom now known as Donegal County. The land was fought for by Gulban's relatives, also known as the Dochartaigh clan, who were then given the title "the Princes of Donegal" after the conquest. Conall was the son of King Niall, who began the family's substantial reign that lasted through the 10th century. Through Niall, the Doherty heritage can be traced back even further, making the clan one of Europe’s longest descent lines. So although it may be distant, my family heritage on my dad's side dates back to the royal family of Ireland. How cool!

Campbell Argyle!

I will soon be a Campbell, which is primarily a Scottish name of Gaelic origins. In Scotland, the name itself derives from two Scot-Gaelic words: "Cam" (mouth) and "Béal" (crooked) meaning "wry-mouthed," originally a nickname which over time became used as a surname. The Campbell Clan of Scotland can be traced back as far as the 13th century. They developed into one of the largest and most powerful Highland clans and the chief of the clan later became the Duke of Argyll. The argyle pattern we know today was derived from the tartan of the Campbell Clan!

The Scots would probably not approve of my inclusion of them on a St. Patty's Day post, but I thought it quite interesting! I leave you with one final fun fact about St. Patty's: Saint Patrick was actually a British missionary in Ireland who used the three leaves on the clover to teach the Irish about the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So go forth and drink some green beer and celebrate your Irish heritage even if it's only in spirit.

Happy Saint Patty's Day to All!

Flying Solo & Fighting for a Cause

First weekend alone in the new place. I went running a couple times, took a walk on the beach, went hog wild at Home Depot and bought two new plants and some new seeds. Spent most of Saturday playing in the dirt, a.k.a. gardening. Chatted with my dad. Read. Watched "How to Train Your Dragon" on TV. Threw a wild party... if by wild party you mean taking out the trash and doing chores around the house, ha.

Kevin and Devin skiing in Tahoe

It actually was quite nice and relaxing. I feel fully rested and recuperated for the work week unlike my dear fiance who is now snoozing soundly next to me. After getting up at 4 a.m., traveling all day, and then getting home at 6 p.m., he's pretty exhausted.  Glad to have him home.

On Friday, I saw that my co-worker Will had a poster in his cube about a 5k fundraiser for brain cancer research, so when I saw him in the break room I asked him about it and he told me he was actually about to pitch one of our partners on having the company be a corporate sponsor and then asked if I'd like to come with. I was totally floored.  Of course I would. We then discovered that we'd both lost parents to the same type of brain cancer, glioblastoma. Unlike many other types of cancer, there are virtually zero survivors of glioblastoma and there are no preventative measures (i.e. exercise and healthy lifestyle play no role). The side effects of the tumor, depending on where it is, are very similar to Alzheimer's. I think both Will and I

Glioblastoma, we are coming for you!

understood after the meeting, how difficult it is to articulate how much help this cause needs. The experience of watching a loved one not only suffer, but lose their personality, and then to watch modern medicine be hopelessly defeated by this insane disease is quite devastating. To have gone through it is to know, and it's something that both weakens and hardens you at the same time. It's such heavy stuff that it scares people. They don't even want to hold in their heads the idea of such pain and sadness, and I don't blame them. Life is so full of other wonderful, happy things. At the same time, to have the ability as an empathetic human being to cross that bridge and say "hey, I don't know what you've been through, but I care and I'd love to help however I can" is amazing. And that's what my boss did. Love this company.

CBD