The Dance of Time
ANN-MARIE O'RYAN FLATLEY (ANNIE) EMBRACES A LIFE FILLED WITH LOVE AND ADVENTURE DIVIDING HER TIME BETWEEN TWO WORLDS AS SHE ALWAYS HAS. A LIFELONG LOVER OF ART AND DESIGN, ANNIE IS A PHOTOGRAPHER HERSELF AND THE CREATOR OF LITTLE FRAME OF MIND. FIERCELY IRISH YET PROUDLY AMERICAN, SHE HAS EARNED THE MONIKER OF 'THE AMERICAN GIRL IN IRELAND AND THE IRISH GIRL IN AMERICA.'
BORN IN AMERICA TO LOVING IRISH IMMIGRANT PARENTS, ANNIE FLATLEY'S LIFE TOOK AN EXTRAORDINARY TURN WHEN, AT JUST TWO YEARS OLD, SHE MOVED TO IRELAND TO LIVE WITH HER DEVOTED GRANDPARENTS. THUS BEGAN A REMARKABLE JOURNEY STRADDLING TWO COUNTRIES, TWO CULTURES, AND TWO FAMILIES-A LIFE LIVED BETWEEN TWO WORLDS.
FROM THE TRANQUIL BEAUTY OF THE IRISH COUNTRYSIDE TO THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF METROPOLITAN CITIES LIKE CHICAGO, LOS ANGELES, AND NEW YORK, ANNIE'S PATH WAS SHAPED BY THE WISDOM OF HER GRANDPARENTS, THE LOVE OF HER FAMILY, AND THE SUPPORT OF HER CLOSE CIRCLE OF FRIENDS.
AT THE HEART OF HER STORY LIES THE OLD RYAN FARMHOUSE-AN ENDURING OLD HOME, BUILT NEARLY THREE CENTURIES AGO WITH STONES GATHERED FROM THE SURROUNDING FIELDS BY THE YOUNG RYAN MEN THEMSELVES. PASSED DOWN THROUGH MANY GENERATIONS, IT HAS BRAVELY WEATHERED TIME'S PASSAGE, OFFERING SHELTER AND SOLACE TO ALL WHO LIVED WITHIN. HER GRANDFATHER WAS BORN IN THIS HOUSE, AND WHEN SHE LIVED THERE WITH HIM, IT WAS HIS TENDERNESS AND WISDOM THAT PROFOUNDLY INFLUENCED THE WAY SHE LOOKS AT LIFE. HE NURTURED IN HER A DEEP LOVE FOR HUMANITY, NATURE, MUSIC, IRELAND, AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, A SINCERE APPRECIATION FOR THE SIMPLE BEAUTY OF BEING ALIVE.
NOW, IN HER SIXTIES, IT IS ANNIE'S TURN TO CARRY THE TORCH. ENTRUSTED AS THE CARETAKER OF THE OLD FARMHOUSE, SHE BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO ITS ANCIENT WALLS WITH THE HOPE OF PRESERVING IT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
AS A GRANDMOTHER HERSELF, ANNIE REFLECTS ON A LIFE RICH WITH ADVENTURE, HEARTACHE, LOSS AND LOVE. WITH GRACE AND COURAGE, SHE SHARES THE LESSONS GATHERED ALONG THE WAY - A WISDOM BORN FROM A LIFE THAT, LIKE SO MANY IMMIGRANTS, STRADDLES TWO WORLDS AS WE NAVIGATE THE DELICATE DANCE OF TIME.
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