Au Revoir and a Sweet Story

Today is my last day in France. I had many idyllic moments here but overall it was not the vacation that I had hoped for. A lot is changing in my family and I think it is difficult for everyone to deal with. It's been an interesting parallel with the changes that are going on in my own life and how I am dealing with those. It's also been an excellent opportunity to practice all sorts of lessons such as appreciating the positive and letting go of the negative, staying centered in an unpleasant situation, how people create drama for themselves and, as a personal note to myself, how freaking unpleasant it is to be around someone who is unhappy and stressed out.

So, while it was not the vacation that I had been looking forward to perhaps it was the vacation that, on some level, I needed.

I did have many good times though and one especially sweet story sticks out in my mind. We have a fancy new espresso machine that I initially was afraid to touch but is so easy to use that my 7-year old niece can and in fact does use it to make espresso for the rest of us. She was making me a drink one afternoon and I told her that the best possible way to wake Aunt Catherine up in the morning would be to come to my room with a cup of espresso. And sure enough, on the mornings that Mei Li was here there was a knock on my door followed by a little girl in pajamas handing me a steaming cup. Truly one one of the sweetest ways I know of to start out the day :)