Lundi, 24 Juin
Summer has officially arrived, and yet Oliver is still in school, which feels very strange. We marked the solstice at the Fete de la Musique, a big music fest with performances all throughout the city. The days are long now, bright outside until well past 10, and I’m grateful that we have effective black-out curtains. These are also crucial for blocking out the sun in the afternoon now that the hotter days have arrived, since we don’t have air conditioning. It somewhat works to temper the heat, but it means our apartment is dark and stuffy for much of the day. We throw open the windows for fresh air once the sun has retreated, but with that comes mosquitos. I chase the pests around with a little electric zapper tennis racket thingy, like a woman possessed. They are my nemesis.
Mardi, 25 Juin
Today Todd and I did something that we have been talking about for months: We arranged Oli’s babysitter to pick him up from school and we took a 30-minute train ride to Saint-Emilion for a fun day. We considered visiting some vineyards — there are literally thousands in this region! But instead, we opted for a long, leisurely lunch, a walk around the village, and sharing a bottle of cremant (sparkling wine) at the Cloître des Cordeliers, a truly stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was fun to explore this wine capital for the first time without a kid in tow.
Mercredi, 26 Juin
Oliver’s guitar teacher will be travelling for most of the summer, so she hosted a little end-of-term concert for her students. We found Maria, who is Icelandic, on an expat FB group, and she’s been meeting Oli for weekly lessons since March. She’s young and enthusiastic, and she’s done a great job of keeping him excited and engaged in learning the guitar. He performed “Pancake Robot” along with an original song called “I Don’t Like School” with his buddy Colsten. We then bid farewell to Colsten and his family after the concert, since they’re moving back to the U.S. Later in the afternoon, the boys donned their “budgie smugglers” (a.k.a. speedos) and went to the neighborhood pool for a dip before Oli’s first French dentist appointment. We’d expected a cleaning, but the dentist just did a quick examination, told Oli his teeth looked great, and sent us on our way with a 25€ bill. Todd had a similar experience with his first appointment the week prior, when they did a quick cleaning with no polishing, X-rays, or extra fluff. It took about 15 minutes and cost 25€. It definitely makes me think about all of the extra stuff we accept as normal or required when it’s probably not even necessary. Like what even is tooth polishing and why do we need it? On a related note, I wrote a piece for Huffpost about our experience with European healthcare vs. the U.S. here.
Jeudi, 27 Juin
Life in France is great, except when it’s sweltering outside and the tram isn’t running and you have to walk home loaded down with groceries while your kid keeps complaining about how hungry he is, and when you make it up the three flights of stairs into your apartment, it’s just as hot as outside because the afternoon sun is blazing through the windows, so you close the heavy curtains in a huff and lay sweating on the couch in the darkness while dreaming of air conditioning and considering having ice cream for dinner.
Vendredi, 28 Juin
Today was Oli’s end-of-year spectacle at his little school. It was held in the sunny (and boiling) courtyard, which was crammed with parents eager to see their kids perform. It was a little surreal watching Oli on that stage with his school friends, dancing and singing songs in French. Not too long ago, we were back home in Virginia, combing through the school’s website, wondering if he would be happy there. He sometimes complained about going to school, like most kids do, and he had some challenges with learning an entirely new language, as anyone would. But when we picked him up at the end of every day, he was smiling. He was embraced and supported by the school, he made solid friendships, and he learned so, so much. He will return to the school in the fall, going into CE2 (3rd grade), a full level up from where he was in the States. I’m so proud of this kid! And also happy to confirm that, as so many assured me before our move, kids are resilient — and can pick up new languages enviously quickly. After the show, and a bit of mingling with parents in the courtyard (which included beer and snacks), we walked over to the Lego store to pick out a new set, and ended the evening on the shady patio of a favorite Italian restaurant.
Samedi, 29 Juin
Todd has been feeling under the weather, so Oli and I headed out to run some errands alone this morning. He rode his scooter and I walked, and we were able to find everything we needed within a few blocks of our apartment — this is by far one of my favorite things about living in France. We started out at the stationery shop around the corner to pick up some cards for his teachers and wrapping paper for a friend’s birthday present. Then we walked over to the pharmacy for a Covid test for Todd (it was negative, thankfully), and I patted myself on the back for speaking fully in French with the pharmacist (yay!). We stopped into the bakery next door for a couple of Todd’s favorite croissants, a baguette, and a big framboise macaron for Oli (total: 8€), then walked over to the grocery store for lunch and dinner supplies. My only sore point of the day was when I fumbled over bagging my own groceries quickly enough (as always), and the cashier started ringing up the next person while my stuff was still on the counter, and mixed up all of our groceries. I got incredibly flustered and annoyed, hating that I didn't have the words to express those feelings in French rather than slinking off, cursing under my breath. Then again, that particular experience has become familiar enough that it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to. Later, I walked Oli around the corner to play with a friend, and I had coffee and chatted with his mum (an English-speaking expat) for several hours. At this point, I’m quite out-of-practice when it comes to socializing, but it felt good to do something that is an ordinary part of my life back home — something that I realize now I took for granted.
Dimanche, 30 Juin
Poor Toddy spent most of the day sleeping, and since Oli and I also felt pretty tired, we had a chill day. We built a fort in the living room, watched movies, and built some Legos. Our big outing was a walk to the park, where Oli wanted to play his guitar, followed by a trip to McDos to pick up some comfort food for our patient. Thankfully the weather has cooled again, and it feels more like fall than almost-July. We’ll enjoy it for as long as we can.