"They’re coming like buses,” said Elaine, as news of yet another engagement broke. Aoife Kearney was engaged to her Tipp man and Orla Murphy to her English man. Their parents are our friends and consequently their children are friends with our ones.

Elaine and Colm had been on their travels as Colm finished out his Nuffield research. They returned a few days before Christmas.

I will be honest, I stole a look at Elaine’s finger and finding nothing there, I dismissed the thought.

Elaine had one day off to recuperate and do her Christmas shopping. Colm scoffed at the idea of shopping and I went off to work.

That evening Tim said Colm was calling late to do some budgeting. We thought him very diligent indeed.

Cartoon by Clyde Delaney.

What he meant to say was that his budget was going to take a hit. I was sitting on the couch.

The door opened and in bounded Hugo, Elaine’s dog, wearing a red bow for Christmas.

He was followed by Colm and Elaine. They stood in the kitchen looking content.

There was a moment of pause. Then a subtle look passed between son and mother. It was fleeting with only one message.

A glint of his eye struck mine and guided me to Elaine’s ring finger where the loveliest of solitaires sparkled.

Colm, our youngest son, was engaged to Elaine Reilly. Dad was with us too. It was a lovely moment.

Tim had a bottle of champagne stashed for such an occasion. We called Diarmuid and toasted the young couple with a lifetime of possibilities stretching before them.

Another surprise

Christmas came and went. Philip and Aileen went to New York for a few days.

On New Year’s Eve we were travelling on the south ring in Cork. My phone rang. It was a video call from Philip.

My first reaction was that a video call would cost a fortune from New York. Philip had something to tell us.

Aileen was coming in and out of the screen too. It was harder to read the eyes of my second son and then Aileen was flashing a three-stone ring on the middle finger of her left hand.

I wasn’t sure if it was her left hand or the correct finger. I was counting furiously while realising that the couple were engaged.

My two sons had made public their commitment to their long-term girlfriends.

I am immensely proud of them. In this pressure cooker of a world, love still conquers all.

It gives strength and foundation to relationships, purpose and magic to the mundane daily tasks of working, living, cooking and nurturing. That time in my life was special.

The ring was a glowing emblem of our young love and we were filled with abundant hopes and dreams.

Birthday celebrations

Last week, Tim reached the milestone of his 60th birthday.

We will have a family celebration at the weekend. It is hard to believe that I’ve known Tim for 43 years.

It has gone in a flash. We are privileged to have four wonderful children who value the family relationship as much as we do.

Each decade of Tim’s life has brought massive changes.

He’s lived through two recessions and survived them. He gave many years to Macra and IFA.

The direction of agriculture and consequences of world events on agriculture are always his concern. As he celebrates his birthday, he looks forward to planned dairy expansion and thinking about retirement on another level. Each decade brings new challenges and realities.

That clock is not going back, so it is important to celebrate every new day and live them to the full. Happy birthday Tim.