Change is in the air

I haven't written in ages. I have to apologise. I have been really busy here and completely enjoying myself. Maybe it is a good thing when I don't write for a while. A sign of contentment, perhaps just laziness. I honestly don't know how I used to fit in work, because without it my life is so full. Each day goes past quickly and the weeks are rolling into one another. I cannot believe that it is already March and that we have been here since December.

We survived the harsh Winter (everyone tells me the worst Winter in 30 years! Trust us to move to France for one year and get that one). And without any notice Spring arrived, and you can really feel the change in the air. The mornings are lighter (when we arrived in France at 9am it was still pitch black outside), now when we get up the sun is well and truly risen and the birds are chirping. There has been a significant change in the temperature too. It is now hitting the double digits and this afternoon was a beautiful 16 degrees. It is hard to believe that a Sydney-sider is saying that 16 degrees is balmy, but oh, it is. And I am loving it. Maybe when I go back to Australia I wont be able to cope with a 25 degree day! Somehow, I think I will still be all right.


Two weeks ago it was still pretty freezing, but almost overnight the seasons shifted, slightly but yet dramatically. As I write this, the late afternoon sun is streaming in through the large windows in my cottage in Bourron-Marlotte. It is 6pm and the sun has not set yet, outside a man is planting trees and flowers in his garden. In the towns, people are also out and about. Restaurant terraces are opening up where we didn't know they existed, people are sitting out on the streets with their cafe and cigarettes, and everyone seems happier, more relaxed. I guess I do too. The trees haven't got all their leaves yet, and the early mornings and afternoons are still crisp, but I'm now experiencing a real Spring. I don't think I ever have before, and it feels good, satisfying.

Merci,

Mel