The end.. or the beginning?

Here I am, sitting down to write my first post for you that finally gets published. I have many sitting in my drafts that got pushed to the bottom on the "list of things to get done" and now months have gone by since I completed my first draft without sharing.

I'm trying to find the words of the story I want to share here, but the best thing to do is start from the beginning of 2026 I guess. And so that's what we're going to do to catch you up on what's going on over on my side.

I was living in Niagara for a while, looking for things to keep busy with and to inspire creativity - both in myself and encouragement for others. Which is where Roots n Routes came in. I thought, what a great name for what it is I do in my life and something that is applicable to every person on earth.

Now, pronunciation is one thing I have always found interesting. My name for a start, isn’t a common one that I’ve come across and I have loved hearing how others pronounce it. It’s Mir-j-ay-nuh not Mir-jawn-uh, or it’s Mary-awhn-uh or Mir-ee-yawn-uh, so say others and I’m just happy to have you attempt to pronounce it at all. There is no right or wrong way to say it in my world, I think because I have an affinity for languages and travelling, where my name is pronounced differently in each culture. So the name Roots n Routes is fitting in that capacity as well - Roots n Roots or Roots n R-ow-ts (I say it the latter, but the English language right? Same word with different spelling or same word with different enunciations).

Roots n Routes came about to be a creative project for myself and support for others in the same manner. I want it to be a project that whoever comes across it, is able to benefit in some way from doing so. The joy in watching the videos, the excitement in being a part of the videos, inspiration to do something locally near you in a similar style or an avenue to day dream about your next adventure.

I began by doing some creative videos for friends and their businesses in the Niagara region, and then shifted to interviewing local artists and creatives with the goal of creating a little online mini-series showcasing the talent in my home area. And we were off to a great start - I got to meet some wonderfully talented humans and was excited to share our conversations with the public.

Shortly after the start of 2026, my grandmother fell ill with an injury and I moved in with her and my grandfather for a while to assist in the movings around of their apartment. Shortly after moving in for what was to be a brief period of time, it was apparent that between the both of them - it was best to have a full-time caregiver present. With memory loss, physical disabilities, health issues and just your general old age taking its toll - I ended up staying with them 7-days a week with short trips out. And it was a wonderful few months to be lucky enough to get that time together with them in such an intimate manner, but as any caregiver (or mother) knows, it becomes overwhelmingly exhausting after a time when not getting any time to yourself after such a stretch.

I took a week’s holiday as a last minute “hey why not” and right as I returned and settled back into the Canadian spring, my grandmother unfortunately broke her hip. So when trying to get a few days in my own bed at home and ween all of us out of the full-time caregiving and encourage them into a Retirement home, I moved into the hospital to be beside her. Between the memory loss and pain medication, this woman was a force to be reckoned with in trying to jump out her hospital bed in the middle of the night not remembering she’s just had major surgery and didn’t believe she’d broken her hip whatsoever. Entertaining to a degree, but exhausting and we ended up rotating shifts between family to have someone with her that she recognized to keep her safe from injuring herself further.

My grandfather was doing the similar thing and having himself in and out of the Emergency Room over the course of the month that nan was also in the hospital. So my night shifts went from 9pm-9am to 9pm-2pm, spending the night with nan and then having a morning ritual of bringing grandpa coffee and getting to sit with him for a few hours until he was too tired or someone else came to visit while he was there. The days were long, but lovely.

Grandpa was the first to move into the retirement home (what with nan being in the hospital and recovery rehab), but she was to be moving in right after she was released from her live-in physio placement. Things were going well on both ends. Grandpa was in the home and nan was improving more quickly than expected.

I was finally able to sleep without the concern of my grandparents not being taken care of, they’re approved and moving into a place that has help for them 24/7. And here’s the thing, I had a flight booked to go to Ireland on a 2 year Working Holiday Visa that was due for mid-April and one that I had already put off for a year. I needed to leave at that point or I would have lost the visa and seen it expired. So the timing of them moving into a residential home was perfect in a selfish way for me.

My last week in Ontario before this flight, my nan was to be discharged the Monday morning and into the home, I was to fly to Ireland and Grandpa - after being brought back into the ER for another blockage that he was having difficulties getting rid of, he was held for observation over the weekend and was to be discharged on Monday to go with nan as well.

Well, it didn’t exactly pan out that way. Yes, nanny moved into the home. Yes, I got on my flight to Ireland. No, grandpa never left the hospital. He passed away that day after being transferred to hospice over the weekend.

Have I processed the loss of him? No, no I have not. But was I one of the lucky ones who got to say goodbye? Yes, I was. And for that - I’m grateful.

I got to spend 4 fun months living with him and my grandmother. I got to leave Canada and start a new life across the world after a proper goodbye. I got to leave knowing that he’s not in pain anymore and that she’s got a built in support system where she’s moving to. I am one of the lucky ones, but I am still learning about grief and loss.

So I moved to Ireland. I’ve been living in County Sligo, along the west coast in a gorgeous community in a stunning location. Mountains on one side, the sea on the other. I dove right into work and filled my time in being busy and dedicating my waking hours to those around me. I was given a bicycle, which took me some time to have repaired - and I finally got it ready for the road so I have some freedom in that manner. I bought a vehicle and the fight to get my license here is going on over 3 months now, so I’ve been limited to the area without my own real means of travel.

As someone who needs the freedom of a vehicle and being able to go wherever at any given time, moving here and the things that have come of it since arriving - it seems the universe is forcing me to stand still for a moment and I’m finally listening.

I left where I was working and am being blessed with all sorts of adventures and beautiful outings that I wasn’t able to do while I was on a last minute schedule for work. I’m not restricted to work and where I’m parked right now, but I still find myself going back and forth because I want to now. I’m catching up on sleep and sitting with emotions. I’m breathing again and feel lighter than I have in a long while.

So light, so as to feel the creativity fighting to get to the surface of my life again. I know I disappeared after a stint of pushing for that mini-series featuring local talent back at home, and I wanted to provide a small insight of what’s happened before I begin putting content out from this new start for me.

I’m going to let things flow as they come, no promises of anything, but going to stay true to the love of life, exploration of relationships in the world and sharing the beauty of the places out there.

I hope you stick around.