Thoughts of Boston

Watching the events unfold in Boston over the last week have been surreal.  It's strange feeling so connected to the situation yet so removed physically from everything that has been going on.  Along with many others, we have tried to follow the events but unlike those in Boston, we have been able to carry on with our normal lives which has me feeling a little guilty.  I am assuming that there are many individuals who feel the same way.

Last Monday, we had friends visiting from Boston and I had taken them to downtown Strasbourg to sightsee and grab a late dinner.  On our way home, I happened to see that I had a Facebook message from someone I knew in Paraguay 15 years ago.  She wanted to know if I was okay since she heard there was an explosion in Boston.  I didn't think much of it considering how far she was and that small stories can often be exaggerated when reported internationally.  I did a quick Google search just to make sure.  The results were hard to believe.  I sat there with our friends from Boston in complete disbelief.

Living abroad, we have the unique opportunity to choose how much information we seek out about these unfolding events.  While I was curious as to the status of all of it, I also found myself holding back from reading too much.  I can only imagine the intensity of the coverage in the US, especially for friends in Boston.  It was surreal to watch the live scenes from our living room with coverage from very familiar spots.  In fact, Jean was able to see our car (black Acura in front of the police cruiser) that we sold right before we left Boston while watching the news (he sold it to someone in Watertown, MA and remembered the street name of where he lived - Jean later emailed the guy confirming his hunch).    

It's funny - people here ask me all the time if I ever get homesick.  I usually tell them that I haven't really yet.  This week changed things for me.  The events this week have made me realize that my connection to Boston is still incredibly strong and I longed to be "home".

Jean and I made a home in Boston and while neither of us were born and raised there, it is a place that we cherish.  It is the place where we married, bought our first place and gave birth to two beautiful children.  Boston was our home for almost a decade and it remains a city very close to our hearts.  The events of the past week have made me cherish the city even more.  There is an incredible strength and pride in Boston than is undeniable. Though our home is in France for now, I anxiously await the time when we will call Boston home again.  Now if I could just come up with some sort mantra...

...Big Papi, any thoughts?

Shedding the Security Blanket

Although some people might think that I've embarked on a huge adventure, truth be told it doesn't always feel that way.  Life for the moment is pretty safe and in some ways it feels like not a lot has changed.  I realized recently that although I am living in France, I am not living in French.  With Jean still looking for work, I find that most of my day is spent speaking English with him and the kids. While I know this will change soon, for now I seem to have opted for the security of sticking with familiarity.  Well up until last week...

A while back I heard about a childbirth conference taking place in Brussels.  It was a small intimate 3 day event featuring Michel Odent, a well know physician, researcher, author and proponent of natural childbirth.  I struggled with whether or not to go but eventually decided that this was an opportunity I could not pass up.  So last week I packed up and left Jean and the kids for 4 days.  It meant me driving to Belgium alone which had be a little nervous.  Being alone in a car driving to a place I had never been was a strange feeling.  Though it was pretty darn cool to drive right through Luxembourg (and stopping there for a fill up and snack!).  I got to Brussels close to 9pm and checked into the B & B, anxious to Skype Jean to see how the kids were.  It may sound silly but I felt so adventurous even though compared to my backpacking around South America when I was in my late teens/early 20's, this "adventure" was much more tame.  Perhaps it's now the fact that I have others to whom I am responsible that made this seemingly small trip feel like I was living on the edge (or I am just mature enough now to know the difference!).  Needless to say, falling asleep without in a room alone hundreds of miles from the security of my husband and kids was hard.

Overall, the conference was great.  I met some incredible people and really felt immersed in French for the first time since I arrived.  The last day of the conference  I mustered up the confidence to talk to Michel Odent during one of our breaks.  What a highlight!  Not only did the conversation last for 20 minutes but he thought it was super cool that I was from Cleveland (how often does that happen?) since that was the first place he was ever invited to speak.  Oh, plus he complimented me on my French.  It was the perfect way to have ended this adventure and I left feeling incredibly proud of myself for taking the risk.  That 4 hours driving home flew by.  Sorry Luxembourg, no time to stop this time - I've got my babies waiting for me...