So, 24 hours from now I'll be heading to the airport, destination GEORGES (woo-hoo, honey, I'm comin' home!)
I think I've done everything (and more) that I came here to do. At least, I sure hope so, because if not it's pretty much too late.
I had lunch or dinner with several friends. I wish I could have met with more of my friends this time around, but there just never seems to be enough time to see everyone. So if you're one of the friends I missed seeing this time, maybe we can see each other at Christmas or on my next solo trip in 2013 (or hey, why don't you come over to Paris!)
I was able to attend my friend Dwight's funeral service, which really gave me a lot of peace, seeing how strong his wife is being in the face of such a terrible loss. I also got to help a classmate organize a silent online auction for the benefit of the Trust created for Dwight's wife and kids, and when that auction is ready to lauch in the next 2 or 3 weeks, I'll post about it here because you may want to get in on that -- and I'm donating a 3-month private coaching package, which might interest some of you.
I cleaned out my mom's unfinished basement, which was a major project. I took two loads of stuff to the county dump, and my mom has a car-load of things to donate to her church thrift shop. And we had a really bizarre "Amityville Horror" moment downstairs when, a couple of days AFTER I did the cleanup, my mom told me she'd seen "dozens" of black flies covering the basement windows on the inside. I thought maybe she was really seeing things... until I went down there armed with a can of Raid bug spray and saw at least 100 flies just where she said they were - on the interior of the basement windows. WHAT THE HELL? I sprayed and sprayed, and there were little fly corpses littering the basement floor. I vacuumed them all up (thank God for the shop vac) and the next day there were even more lying around. Must have been a major "hatching" down there; we've never had that before in the 50 years my family has lived in this house (my parents were the original buyers, too, circa 1962). CREEPY!
I sent to my state capital for official copies of my vital records, and even got fingerprinted at our local police station for my FBI background check, which is part of the requirements of the application process for French nationality -- which I plan to apply for as soon as all my official documents come back in the next 1-2 months. In July, Georges and I will celebrate our 4th anniversary and I will then be eligible to apply. It's complicated and I will be posting more on that as I go through it (and will be calling on my friends who've already done it to coach me through it!)
I cleaned out the rain gutters, cleaned out a little bit of paperwork that was cluttering up my mom's house (my sister does it regularly but since I was here, I took a turn), got rid of a few things of my own (and packed others in my suitcases, including an antique reverse-painted glass lamp!) and even fixed the rocking toilet. And a lot of other little tasks here and there. If I can fit it in today, I can show my mom how we can use Skype to do video chat; she's done it from my sister's place but not from her own computer.
I am kind of exhausted now, truth be told. Mom and I are planning to just hang out today, with dinner and a movie later, to cap off our visit. I knew I would be burning the proverbial candle on this trip, so I'm not surprised to be tired (and happily, my knee and ankle were pretty cooperative all week, thank you very much!) But it's been a nice and very productive 10 days. Not long enough, as it turns out, to spend the kind of fun, quality time I wanted with my family, as my sister and her family are spending the Memorial Day weekend at their cabin in upstate NY, which they do every year (and which I had forgotten about when I booked my flights). C'est la vie... will try and plan better next time.
Every time I come back to the States now, I notice I now experience a bit of reverse culture-shock -- both positive and negative. Like, the volume level is just so much higher here, in terms of people talking in (for example) restaurants. Trying to park in a mall parking lot without my mom's new small car being scratched when 80% of the vehicles are still these giant SUVs? Not so easy. And on the flip side, everywhere I went in stores -- and even the POST OFFICE -- the employees were SO friendly and helpful that I was all, "Hey, back off, dude, I'm used to being ignored and glared at and getting NO customer service, so I don't know what to do with all this niceness! You're treating me too well, I'm not used to it!" (Yeah, France - you've got some good stuff, but you've got a long way to go with customer service.) Air conditioning? A big plus. But it's often too cold, which is a minus.
Some things here come so easily and naturally that it was comforting, like just being able to walk in a store and pick up exactly what I want with no hassles, or being able to speak to people so effortlessly. On the other hand, France is creeping more and more into my consciousness, and all week long, I had to forcibly restrain myself from speaking in French automatically when I entered or left a store or restaurant: "Bonjour, messieurs-dames; merci, au revoir; d'accord; bonne journée!"
Well, if the weather will just hang in there for one more day without major storms or hurricane-force winds and rain, maybe my flight will depart on time tomorrow and I'll be home early Monday morning... in the arms of the man I love and with our kids. Then we can let the summer begin!
I love my family and friends here, and I miss them so much when I'm apart from them. But I know where I belong now.
