Thank you Michel and Rachel for
driving us to Brussels on a miserable,
rainy Sunday afternoon. After a short
sleep in an airport hotel at
6 a.m. the following day Tom, from
Skyfast, picked Piper up; talk about
trust, handing over my precious dog
to a complete stranger....I won't share
the thoughts I had regarding this! Tom
was to take Piper to the plane just
before takeoff.
After getting on the plane Alec said,
"well mom, after the chaos of last
week everything went amazingly well,
eh?"
And then we landed!
"How long have you been out of the
country?"
"Nine months," said this Canadian citizen
and permanent resident of the US of A.
"Did not anyone tell you that you were to
inform Immigration before you left?"
"Ah, no sir."
"Go to line B"
Line B. I'm not exactly sure what B stands for
but I could think of a few words; boring wasn't
one of them. After two hours of waiting and much
tapping I started to laugh. "Alec, I can assure
you I am the only Canadian in this crowd and you
are the only American; Sari's, Burqa's, dreadlocks,
and all shades of colours. "Just think of it this way,
Alec, this is another story to add to our collection."
Finally, we were released and walked into the waiting
arms of Jeff. An hour later we were reunited with
Piper in cargo. Then a 3 1/2 hour drive home to
Roanoke.
Shock: a sudden or violent disturbance of the mind,
emotions, or sensibilities
So says dictionary.com.
You may be thinking that our shock was returning from
the Old World of France to the New World of
the United States and the stark differences between the
two cultures; I mean lets face it, we just don't
do bread the way France does bread.
And it's hard to beat 3 euro bottles of fabulous wine or
the cheese, 365 different types
of cheese, one for each day of the year.
Perhaps you are thinking that shock settled in when
we could actually see our neighbours yards, front and
back and realize that there are no high, stuccoed walls
separating each neighbour or that we could even see through
windows, into warmly lit living rooms because there are
no closed shutters
separating the inside world from
the outside world.
Or was the shock in realizing that our 112 year old
house is not old (we were living
in a 15th century home in Lessy.
No, the real shock is the
"sudden disturbance of the mind
emotions and sensibilites" of JEFF,
my husband and Alec's father.
After five minutes back home Jeff looked
like a deer in headlights, suddenly aware
that his bachelorhood existence of
these past nine months was becoming
a mere shadow.
Before we came home Jeff warned Rita,
our downstairs tenant, "be aware,
things are about to change!"
Well honey, WE'RE BACK!; one adventure
accomplished though not finished; I
will be "unpacking" the experience of
our time in France for a long time.
During Christmas, when Jeff was visiting
us in France, our friends Brigitte and
Bernard gave us a gift, a small acorn.
Last summer they had visited our cabin in Vermont
and wanted to give us an oak tree from
France.
When Jeff returned home he planted this
acorn, which has since sprouted and sits
on our tiny, enameled top kitchen table,
just waiting, and growing and perhaps
imagining herself one day
as a mighty oak.
Thank you, Jeff, for believing in me
enough to let me go on this adventure
with our son.
And to all of my friends and family,
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”
― Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems
driving us to Brussels on a miserable,
rainy Sunday afternoon. After a short
sleep in an airport hotel at
6 a.m. the following day Tom, from
Skyfast, picked Piper up; talk about
trust, handing over my precious dog
to a complete stranger....I won't share
the thoughts I had regarding this! Tom
was to take Piper to the plane just
before takeoff.
After getting on the plane Alec said,
"well mom, after the chaos of last
week everything went amazingly well,
eh?"
And then we landed!
"How long have you been out of the
country?"
"Nine months," said this Canadian citizen
and permanent resident of the US of A.
"Did not anyone tell you that you were to
inform Immigration before you left?"
"Ah, no sir."
"Go to line B"
Line B. I'm not exactly sure what B stands for
but I could think of a few words; boring wasn't
one of them. After two hours of waiting and much
tapping I started to laugh. "Alec, I can assure
you I am the only Canadian in this crowd and you
are the only American; Sari's, Burqa's, dreadlocks,
and all shades of colours. "Just think of it this way,
Alec, this is another story to add to our collection."
Finally, we were released and walked into the waiting
arms of Jeff. An hour later we were reunited with
Piper in cargo. Then a 3 1/2 hour drive home to
Roanoke.
Shock: a sudden or violent disturbance of the mind,
emotions, or sensibilities
So says dictionary.com.
You may be thinking that our shock was returning from
the Old World of France to the New World of
the United States and the stark differences between the
two cultures; I mean lets face it, we just don't
do bread the way France does bread.
And it's hard to beat 3 euro bottles of fabulous wine or
the cheese, 365 different types
of cheese, one for each day of the year.
Perhaps you are thinking that shock settled in when
we could actually see our neighbours yards, front and
back and realize that there are no high, stuccoed walls
separating each neighbour or that we could even see through
windows, into warmly lit living rooms because there are
no closed shutters
separating the inside world from
the outside world.
Or was the shock in realizing that our 112 year old
house is not old (we were living
in a 15th century home in Lessy.
No, the real shock is the
"sudden disturbance of the mind
emotions and sensibilites" of JEFF,
my husband and Alec's father.
After five minutes back home Jeff looked
like a deer in headlights, suddenly aware
that his bachelorhood existence of
these past nine months was becoming
a mere shadow.
Before we came home Jeff warned Rita,
our downstairs tenant, "be aware,
things are about to change!"
Well honey, WE'RE BACK!; one adventure
accomplished though not finished; I
will be "unpacking" the experience of
our time in France for a long time.
During Christmas, when Jeff was visiting
us in France, our friends Brigitte and
Bernard gave us a gift, a small acorn.
Last summer they had visited our cabin in Vermont
and wanted to give us an oak tree from
France.
When Jeff returned home he planted this
acorn, which has since sprouted and sits
on our tiny, enameled top kitchen table,
just waiting, and growing and perhaps
imagining herself one day
as a mighty oak.
Thank you, Jeff, for believing in me
enough to let me go on this adventure
with our son.
And to all of my friends and family,
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”
― Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems
