Yeah, I know, I know... too long since last post. (At least I know that's what Georges is thinking.) In between, well, LIFE I've been thinking about new material but then the LIFE part got in the way a bit. So to catch you all up, here's what's been going on:
- My mother had double knee replacement surgery back home in New Jersey last Thursday. About five days before that, she suddenly decided she would feel better if I came back there and she's be willing to pay for the ticket, and how do you say no to your mother under those conditions? Well, you can't. So several days of scrambling to figure out what dates would work to coordinate with my sister's own after-care-for-Mom efforts, what flights were available, and at what prices led to me booking a 11-day trip AWAY FROM GEORGES to stay with my mother when she gets out of the therapy rehab place. I'm happy to be able to be there for her and to give my sister a much needed break, but not one bit happy about being apart from my husband for that long. Mom's surgery went well although she did have a rough 2 days afterward (the pain meds didn't agree with her) but she's moved to the rehab and they've had her up and walking, and I'll bet it hurts like hell. She's a trooper, our mom! I am hopeful this surgery will give her such good results that before long she'll be willing to get on a plane and come visit us in Paris!
- My twice-weekly English tutoring with my young friend (13-year-old daughter of Georges' friend) has gone well and she brought her grades up well enough to satisfy the teacher and both her parents. We'll continue this week and next and then take a summer break, and resume in the fall which I'm happy about. After all, we have only just started reading "Little House on the Prairie" together! If anyone knows of someone who would like some English tutoring here in Paris, feel free to hook us up; I promise not to make them read "Little House" if that's not their tasse de thé.
- Work, work, work! After a couple of months with virtually no new projects coming in (and therefore no income, either), things have suddenly turned around and I have a flurry of requests from repeat customers who want to work with me again, plus a few new clients as well. Despite my resolve to retire from web design, a few former clients needed some help and I needed the work, and fortunately they're all people I really loved working with the first time. Juggling all of this is keeping me very busy, especially as I am trying to finish some of these projects before I go to New Jersey next Friday.
- Family life has been keeping me busy as well. On the days/weekends when we have the Little Guy with us, there's a set routine to be kept and I have my role as well. This weekend he announced out of the blue that he'd never been to the Arc de Triomphe before, and he wanted to go. I'd never been there either, even after nearly three years here, and Georges couldn't remember when he'd last gone there. So Sunday morning, off we trooped like good little tourists (in fact, the guy at the ticket booth was surprised to hear Georges speaking to him in French!) We lucked out and the line was non-existent (go in the mornings apparently because the lines for tickets get longer as the day goes on). And up we climbed. And climbed. (And stopped for breath -- never mind how many times.) And climbed. They very thoughtfully put padded benches at the top of the spiral staircases for tired climbers to collapse upon before they die recover. And you're still inside the monument at that point where there's a rather interesting display/gift shop area where you can also see the view of what is directly below you via a camera (the eternal flame and all the tourists). Then a few MORE stairs (you can imagine my delight in seeing them) got us to the roof for a lovely 360-degree view of Paris. Photos will follow soon as I have time to get them out of the camera.
- I am working on a new idea for my business which I can't really say much about at the moment but which I'm rather excited about. More on that in a few weeks, I think.
- And I'm still NOT pregnant. [sigh] Very much not. Disappointed about that, of course, but nothing I can really do other than accept what is and know that I am still married to the most wonderful man in the world, and if we're meant to be blessed with a baby then it will happen anyway. Perhaps when we least expect it although I had sort of hoped it would be before I'm 50! I would appreciate it, though, if my body would STOP sending me symptoms and signals that could indicate pregnancy but which also appear to be some sort of odd PMS stuff. It's no fair for my hormones to fool with my expectations in this way!
So there you have it... life at the Bold Soul's place. How's life at YOUR place?
