Today was our last day of summer camps. 12 weeks, 144 kids from June - end of August. It was fun and we did some really cool projects, but it's exhausting...I can't even tell you how exhausting it is. I tell you, working 4 hours with kids is like working 10 hours non-stop without a break.
Tonight we are drinking our vin rouge and realizing that our departure is only 3 weeks away. We received many hugs and kisses from the kids & parents that only come during the summer, because we won't see them for almost 2 years. Next summer we'll be in france and then we come back in September and run classes until June 2010 (wow, that's strange to type) and then we'll see the camper kids, so yes, almost 2 years. Hard to wrap my head around that one.
Now we have 10 days off. We always have a break after summer to let the kids get back into the swing of school and us to get re-charged. We are going to sleep in - maybe until 7:00, ride everyday, lay by the pool and relax. Then we'll go back to the studio on the 9th let Travis take over and say goodbye to our 100 students & their parents.
I had a little stressful break-down last night and figured that it would be a good time for a list of what i will miss, what i won't miss and what I am looking forward to. Here is what I came up with.
what I will miss?
peanut butter
all of our good friends
the ocean
pacific coast highway
my single speed bike
the kitchen in my house (not the tiny one in our apartment)
warm weather & sun all year round
my pottery studio
Dr. Carlsen, our vet
Mammoth Lakes
the convenience of walking 1 block to the beach
our favorite restaurants
The food channel
the new season of Entourage
the new season of The Larry David Show
the new season of Grey's Anatomy
a normal sized fridge (or maybe the french fridges are normal sized and ours are just HUGE)
my Le Creuset (i will buy one in france)
my new LA blogging friends
what I won't miss?
every other car being a range rover (100k and 12 miles to the gallon!)
washington blvd.
the noise
bad drivers
the traffic
the 405 freeway
the smog
the possibility of an earthquake at any time
the carpet in our temporary apartment
Los Angeles
paying a huge mortgage
going to work everyday (although 20 hours a week ain't bad)
speaking english
worrying about the dollar/euro
most people
Fox News
having my dogs always be on leash
george bush
and
what i am looking forward to
fresh croissants
great wine
getting settled in our petite maison
not freezing to death in the winter
biking all over france
seeing the Tour de France in person
biking up the famous cols (Mt. Ventoux, L'alpe d'huez, Tourmalet among others)
taking Bruce to Italy
meeting Kim and Loulou and Betty and Owen and.....
going to Paris and meeting Leesa, Barbara, Sam, and....
having my family come and visit in March
having our good friends come and visit
visiting Bourdeaux
going back to Mallorca (this time to bike instead of rock-climb)
peace and quiet
sleeping in
blogging about our adventure
taking cooking classes
taking pottery classes
beautiful villages
market days
becoming fluent in french
spending time with Jacques, Fabianne and Fabrice
having Thanksgiving dinner with our new french friends
celebrating Bruce's 40th birthday in France
having sex all the time
living in the country
being able to take our dogs into restaurants
a simple life
napping every afternoon
our first African-American president
hopefully staying longer than 1 year
I love that my "looking forward" list is much longer than the others. I really have no idea what to expect. I have never seen the house we are renting in person, only pictures. We bought a car, but have never seen that in person either. The longest we have spent in France is 1 month, so I'm sure the first month will be great and then the day to day routine will set in. I hope that the winter isn't that bad and that I don't freeze to death. I hope that my brain won't forget the french that I have been studying for 3 years. I'm sure at first I'll be a bit slow, but after 3-4 months speaking the language I'm sure I'll feel much more confident. I can't wait to have 2 acres of land for the dog to run free in, they will be in heaven. I just hope they don't run into a wild boar, not sure what they will do. I'm not sure what I'd do!
I'll probably freak out again a couple more times before we go. But my list did help and I know that what we are about to do will be amazing and life changing and I feel better.
15 comments:
take heart! You CAN find peanut butter in France!!
And some places even have "frigos american". Seriously- that is what they are called. We have one.
Have a good vacation!
This post made me tear up... I am very excited for you both... after following your Juicy Life in LA that has been leading up to this moment... I have been here for 2 years now, and there are much fewer things that I miss from the States (although what I would give for a weekly shopping spree at Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Abercrombie).. I think I miss the "ocean" the most... but there is ocean here in France, just farther away from where we live, that's all! I LOVEEEEEEEE France, and there are sooo many wonderful things here to enjoy... I know you will both fall in love again with la France!! I wish you a wonderful démenagement en France.. We would LOVE to come visit you one day while you are living here... We were just past Aveyron (Viaduc de Millau) this past summer... It's a beautiful region... Take good care, Leesa : )
All hail the making of the list, mais pourquoi détestez-vous l'anglais ? ;-)
Man, between you and Kim, the dream of moving there actually seems plausible. Damn you all, but I mean that in a good way.
Don't worry about those jitters, once you're there, everything will be groovy. Except when it's not, but at least it'll be groovy en français.
Megan - oh good, glad I can find PB...hopefully I won't have to drive 2 hours to find it. That's probably the only food I will miss. I will have to get used to buying my milk in bottles that look like bleach though.
Leesa - I think I will miss the ocean the most. When you live 1 block from it you really take it for granted. But then on a beautiful day like today you look out and there she is. I know we'll visit the ocean while we are there, but there is something about ours that I'll miss.
I will miss Trader Joes, so much! Not Whole Paycheck "foods", although I do own stock in them. Oh I will miss Target, forgot about that, you go in for 1 little item and come out 100.00 poorer.
I know we'll fall in love with france...we already are...but it will be a different love from a tourist. Can't wait.
Randall - I don't detest english, just don't want to speak it for 1 year...I really want to become fluent in french and I'm not as confident with my speaking as my husband, I need to just blurt it out and if it's wrong then I'll get corrected and learn from my mistakes.
We are only going for 1 year, to start, but anything is possible and life is too short. The last thing we want to say when we are old is "we should have moved to france for a year"...you know the old shoulda, coulda, woulda. You are welcome to come for a visit.
Groovey, I love that word. Yes, if it's not so groovey all I have to do is remind myself I'm in france with my man.
thats sounds like a great life to me. i dont miss LA when i go on vacations, not at all!
keep punchin'
Oh, I'm so flattered to be on your list! I really liked the positive side to this post. Of course, any change has its down points but you will have a great time.
GOBAMA!
Don't forget to get in touch when you come to Bordeaux!
Hi Alicia,
Hey; you guys are getting there ! I'm very excited for you & your family !
Thanks so much for including myself in your plans when you pop over to Paris.And you will really enjoy meeting Leesa & Sam.
You have been really making your lists, which is nice. But, always be open to discoveries and new things that you don't yet know.Let yourself be surprised too !
This may be my last comment, as I'm flying off Sunday to North America to see family & friends.
Take care and have a safe trip over.
Hugs xx
betty - go obama is right. I can't wait to meet you and have lunch.
Lesley - I will be in touch when we get there and do our trip(s) to the Perigod. I also want to get your friends number - the potter.
Barbara - Our moto is go with the flow...we are not the type of people who have an agenda or schedule we have to follow, we are open to everything. Have fun in the states.
finally found you and I'm catching up!
oh and DANG I'm moving to the Aveyron if it means you can have sex all the time!
Kim - glad you found me. Not sure if everyone else in the Aveyron has sex all the time, but we will be...
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