Where have we been?

Where have we been? Mostly lost in our own little world of panic and transition. 

Tom waited a bit too long to pack up the studio and the three, yes three, basements that were part and parcel to 3838 South Road. Emptying them and cleaning as best he could would definitely qualify as a panic. I went hiking with friends and captured the last of a glorious summer in Vermont.

There are no words to describe how crazy the packing of the container was. I’ll just say it was finally all packed at 10:30 p.m. by the headlights of Tom’s truck and I still do not know how they got the doors closed on all the stuff that went into that enormous thing. I know even less about what got snuck in there when I wasn’t looking. The neighborhood graciously accepted the various things that didn’t make it in. There was some funny “shopping” going on by flashlight that night. 

For several weeks we have been here in Bourdeilles. There have been various and sundry little crises, but they are all slowly but surely moved into the crisis averted category. Now both of us find time to take a bike ride or chat with new friends as we take our evening walk. 

Small Steps

We left Vermont with full bellies from delicious meals , cheeks that hurt from laughing and hearts breaking from parting with such wonderful friends and family.

We arrived in France to a house opened and warmed by the sunshine, fresh flowers in the entryway and homegrown produce on the kitchen counter.

“Nous avons de la chance!” We have great luck!

--sorry to not have any photos. I've been basking in irresponsibilty and lack of connection to the internet and what might be called the real world.
It's going to be very small steps for awhile!

Visions of Grandeur

Burn Pile Memories

Sorting. 

Thank goodness we put the house on the market way early. In getting things straightened up for showing we were forced early on to begin sorting through our material lives.

An easy place to start was with the two large boxes of tax records. 

While we watched fluffy English language movies during the long nights in early November I would go through folders and envelopes. So many utility bills, bank statements with numbers, but no meaning, so many checks for Scholastic book orders and Girl Scout Cookies. Every now and then there would be an astronomical check for a bonsai tree, a garden pot, an airplane ticket to France. These I would read out loud to Tom and we would be in wonder at what we had been doing at that time, who we were to spend so much money, who were those two people?

After we had reminisced and laughed at those forgotten experiences, 99% of those papers were put into paper bags for disposal. Being Fall the perfect thing to do was to stack all these bags into the garden cart and head on down to the burn pile. As flames caught the bags you could see the papers curling up and then ashes began to float into the air. Big paper ashes.

 Suddenly we both laughed. All those evenings of viewing our past. The chance to recapture memories that had drifted away were again drifting into the ether. What about writing that memoir that could have been pieced together? - now we could create just any ol’ thing we want. 

Group Lessons

Some lessons learned from group participation:

Listen

Be firm yet gentle in your statements. You will see these people in the grocery or at the gym

Learn from your elders and your youth

Be humble

Be joyous

Be silly

Take risks. You will feel stronger

Be passionate even when it is scary to be in the public eye. Say it even if your lips are trembling

The right group can be safe and make you better emotionally and better in your actions

Thank you Williston. Thank you Vermont for the all the opportunities to participate and shine in the little things we could contribute.