Wednesday, November 30, 2011

100

One hundred posts. Another milestone reached this November, this one will not pass unnoticed, but will pass without the fanfare of my 30th birthday or Lauris’s first haircut. Similar to the one-year anniversary of our arrival in France (November 8th), it serves to remind me of how quickly time flies.

Looking back on the past year I realize how much things have changed: Lauris is not a little baby anymore, but far from making our lives easier this has only made things more challenging. We aren’t the new arrivals in Clermont-Ferrand any longer; we have been in our apartment for over six months now and a handful of families have arrived since. We have become accustomed to life here; we have chosen our favorite flower shop and boulangerie, know the best times to go grocery shopping to avoid the lines, and somewhat understand the daily rhythm of the city. And most importantly Clermont now feels like home, we have formed friendships and established relationships that give our life here excitement and meaning.

A 29 week bump
But as the saying goes, the more things change, the more things stay the same. My French language skills have barely improved beyond what I arrived in France with. We still have only the most basic understanding of how “things work” here, many times struggling under the deluge of paperwork and appointments needed to retain our status as legal residents. And the longing to be near family has not only remained with us, but possibly increased as we miss all the family gatherings and celebrations back in the US.

This next year will bring far greater change as we welcome the new addition to the family and learn to adjust to being a family of four. But it will also bring more opportunity to travel to new places, meet new people and experience new things, and for this I am extremely grateful. Keeping this diary of our adventures here has become so much more than what it started as 100 posts ago; from a method of keeping friends and family updated on our travels, Lauris’s development and life in France, it has expanded into a catharsis that allows me to feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. No matter that the laundry basket is full and I have yet to finish the ironing from the last, no matter that the room/table/area I just cleaned is already a mess, no matter that there are days where all I do is prepare food, at the end of the day I have something to show for my efforts because I have this blog, I have my 100 posts, and I have a record that we are learning, living and loving our time here in France.

Rue des Gras on Thanksgiving day

And the post that started it all, Happy New Year!!!

3 comments:

  1. Mums arī pietrūkst biežāk satikties, un ļoti patīk lasīt blogu (gandrīz katru dienu pirmā lieta, ko daru ir apskatos, vai ir jauns...!)! Skaipot ir jauki, bet tomēr gribētos jūs visus apkampt!

    We are "homesick" to see you as well, and love reading your bloggings (the first thing I do almost each day is check to see whether you've written something!)! Skype is great, but I sure would like to give y'all a huge hug...!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy #100! We're going on our 4th year here and there are still so many things we haven't worked out yet! When the French word doesn't come out, hand signals always work!

    ReplyDelete
  3. this is a nice post. my husband and i often talk of moving to another country and wonder about all the possibilities.
    I feel the same sort of accomplishment regarding my blog at the end of the day. Sometimes I just don't have time but I love having a place for memories and inspirations.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...