Today, the Bold Soul is 4 years old!
It is hard to get my brain wrapped around that: I've been writing and producing this blog for FOUR YEARS. And that in doing so, I managed to achieve and even exceed my wildest dreams.
When I started, it was more as an exercise in writing more regularly and also to explore just what, exactly, this blogging stuff was all about, as I had a few friends who were less technically trained than I who had already jumped into the blogosphere with both feet. I felt I might be left behind if I didn't check it out, and so began my first blog entry.
It didn't take long for my blog to find it's true focus and purpose: as a means of keeping me on track toward my goal of moving to Paris. During Year 1 of The Bold Soul, that's what I tried to write about: my desire to move to Paris and why I wanted to do it; what I was doing both physically and emotionally to prepare myself for it; the challenges I was meeting in achieving what I wanted. I wrote about other things going on in my life as well: family, friends and occasionally work.
A bit more than halfway through Year 2, after much frustration with "WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG?", it finally happened. I got an opportunity to move with the offer of a place to stay. There were still challenges to be met and overcome, but on November 10th, 2006, I arrived with suitcases in hand. And my life began anew.
Year 3 was my dream-come-true-year. I explored Paris, alone or with visiting friends. I made new friends here. I traveled outside of Paris, in part for some research for a future book based on my grandmother's similar travels in 1956. I also helped that same grandmother make her transition into whatever happens next when our souls leave our bodies, and she passed away peacefully on December 28th, 2007.
Oh... and by the way, that was the year in which I met Georges.
Meeting Georges happened at a time when I really wasn't sure what my next move was. Should I stay in Paris? Could I even afford to stay, the economy and exchange rates being what they were and getting worse all the time? Did I really want to live here long-term, or could I be satisfied with just having spent the better part of a year or so there? I didn't have the answers as October rolled around but I knew one thing: I wasn't ready to leave Paris YET.
I met Georges just days later... and I had my answer.
So Year 4 for the Bold Soul was about Love... REAL Love. The "He's DEFINITELY Into Me!" kind of love. And it was also about being part of a couple. Living together. Getting engaged. Getting married. Getting established in a new country "for keeps". And becoming a step-mother. Oh, yeah... and slave to a cat (that one I could have done without, but sometimes life gives you special challenges to conquer).
Now as Year 5 begins, what's next for this Bold Soul? Well, I wish I had a crystal ball, but I don't. I have a few projects in the works, both personally and professionally, and we'll see how those turn out... and if they do, then you'll be hearing more about them. I do know that I am still "in transition" with my life here. I continue to have challenges related to not having fully mastered the French language. I have things to deal with for immigration (such as my final mandatory all-day "civics" seminar this Friday). We are planning to do some traveling and hopefully take our real honeymoon to... Venice, perhaps?
What I know for sure is this: I love writing this blog. And I don't plan to stop doing it any time soon. It has not only served it's original purpose but it's given me so much more. At nearly 1,300 posts and over 3,500 comments, I think it's safe to say it's given you something, too. What more could I ask for from something that started out as a writing exercise?
So, it's a happy day today, and I am truly grateful. And I thank all of you, the Bold Soul readers, for helping me make it possible to be here as I enter my 5th year of blogging. Let's celebrate and share the happiness with Barbra and Judy, shall we?
(Or perhaps you prefer the solo versions. Didn't Judy have great legs for a little woman? And Babs looks so elegant in that up-do.)
Bienvenue à l'Année 5, mes amis!
