Joyeuse Saint Valentin

So it is the 14th of February again in Paris... I wish I had some exciting, romantic, dripping with cheese evening plans to share with you but unfortunately this chicken noodle is celebrating the day of love alone. I won't lie I may treat myself to a glass of nice wine and a delish dinner this evening (courtesy of Picard of course!! Hehe). Anyway, I got to thinking this morning as I lay awake at 4:30 am (have I ever told you how much I love jet lag?) about how different this happy little holiday is in America and France. In the states, I am pretty sure decorations and hearts and flowers and giant stuffed bears start showing up in stores pretty much right after Christmas, why would we let any significant time pass between holidays where money could be made, that would be silly!? Whereas here in Paris, there were very few decorations or even references to Valentine's until the start of this week. Here (and this is my little opinion) this holiday is really still about the love of someone and making that person feel special, instead of cramming into an over booked resto, with a price fixed menu, cheesy red roses and that box of chocolates with the (mostly disgusting) random fillings*. People aren't dressed in red and pink today and there aren't cupids hanging over the entrance to the Metro - although that would be funny to see! So all this thinking really got me interested to see what I could dig up about the history of St. Valentin in France... here is a taste of what I found...

Valentines Day Traditions in France  courtesy of Lost in France

"No one really knows how Valentines day originally came about or even who St Valentine really was - the Catholic church has three different St Valentines and in ancient Rome the 14th of February was marked as a holiday to honour the god Juno. Custom has it that in France and England Valentines day originally came to be held in mid February because this was the time of year that birds and animals started pairing off and mating. Eventually it became popular to exchange small tokens and love letters and so the day was born.

An old Valentines day custom in France and now officially banned was called the "une loterie d'amour" or "drawing for love". This entailed single people of all ages entering houses that faced opposite each other and calling out through the windows till eventually they paired off with each other. The male suitor if not particularly attracted to his partner would leave her and the women left single would build a large bonfire and ceremoniously burn images of the men that had deserted them whilst simultaneously hurling abuse and curses at the ungrateful men. Though this was probably very therapeutic for the rejected women inevitably it was a practice that soon became out of hand and was eventually banned by the French government. < I am going to add my two sense here because I find this super interesting... seriously... why ban this it sounds like a good freaking time, well I guess as long as you are chosen but if you aren't just make sure you have a bad of marshmallows handy and a good roasting stick (don't forget a cold beer or glass -actually bottle- of wine and make it a party!! >

In France Valentines cards are called cartes d'amities, the first recorded Valentines greeting was supposed to have been sent by the Duke of Orleans, a Frenchman who was held prisoner in the Tower of London after his capture at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. During his imprisonment the young duke is said to have sent poems & love letters to his wife in France."

So to close out this little lesson on VDay in France - let me share with you a few awesome les petites phrases de la drague (pick up lines) to help you and yours celebrate this day of hearts, kisses and love (en Francais bien sure!)

Est-ce que ton père a été un voleur ? Parce qu'il a volé les étoiles du ciel pour les mettre dans tes yeux.
(Was your father a thief? Because he stole the stars from the sky to put them in your eyes)

Tu as dû avoir très mal quand tu es tombée du ciel... 
(It must've hurt when you fell from heaven...)

Tu dois être fatiguée parce que tu as trotté dans ma tête toute la journée.
(You must be tired, because you've been running through my head all day)

Je viens d'arriver dans ta ville. Est-ce que tu pourrais m'indiquer le chemin jusqu'à ton appartement ?
(I just arrived in this city. Could you tell me the way to your apartment?)

*Don't get me wrong, even though that sounded a bit bitter,  I love all that stupid crap too so if anyone wants to send flowers, chocolates or jewelry - it will be accepted with open arms!! Any chance to make a person feel special today or any other day of the year should be fully taken advantage of.

My Mother Always Said

When you have nothing nice to say, then say nothing at all. I know that is an old been around the block kind of a saying but for the past few weeks that is the motto I have been living by. At least when it comes to writing in this little blog of mine…. now after a few weeks, I think, I have my head cleared up enough to finally let it out.

On Saturday, August 13, 2011,  I was told that an incredibly important person to me did not have much time left to spend with the rest of us here in this little thing we call life. This was something I was sort of expecting because a recent (re)diagnosis about her breast cancer had not gone well, but I honestly was not ready for it to happen so quickly (nor was anyone else for this matter). So after crying on the shoulders of two caring and amazing friends on Saturday and  spending hours googling whatever cheap flights we could (there may have been a bottle of wine and some junk food involved…) then spending Sunday baking cupcakes with the PIC and her two amazingly adorable children to keep my mind occupied... I finally shoved whatever I could find in my room in a suitcase at 2 am Monday morning and was one a plane home by 11 that Monday….  This was the going to be the beginning of an incredibly hard transition for me, my family and a lot of people around me. How do you fit enough time in with someone you love and try to still just enjoy it without constantly wondering about what the next two weeks might bring? There is no way to prepare and it was the most intense learning and growing experience I have had since I have moved here…. This woman was one of the most encouraging, kind hearted, open minded, funny and loving woman I have ever been blessed to have in my life over the last 20 years. She has been more than a friend of the family (and so has the rest of this fantastic clan) she (well all of them) are my family...

We have spent camping trips (a lot in the rain), hikes up Mt. Monadnock on the coldest and windiest days of the year, parrot head concerts, endless holidays, nights of Wamser Whammies, graduations, proms, Superbowls and everything else you can think of in between together.

Whether we were comparing who’s butt was tighter and more toned (she always won), or if I was shedding tears because of the love of my life at that moment in time, fears about moving here to Paris, drunken Skype calls, or just exchanging simple emails gossiping and catching up, she was always a breath of fresh air and took on the motherly role with open arms and never thought twice about it. But she wasn't just another mother to me and my sister but she also was my Mom's best friend and her PIC (Partner in Crime) ....

I don't have many memories that don't involve the two of them laughing or plotting some crazy bike trip, vacation or just a night out at Chili's so we could all be together!! I was not only blessed enough to have her in my life but I was lucky enoughto have the opportunity (Thanks to my parents and a fantastic boss) to spend time with her before she passed. In this time everyone laughed, remembered, cried, ate and drank with many toasts to memories... and well... we were all just there for each other. It reinforced something I have always held incredibly dear to me, my family, and the love we all have. The time I spent at home was very bittersweet but it is a time I won't ever forget and although my "other mother" may not be here with us in person anymore, I KNOW that she left us knowing how loved she was, how important, influential and treasured she was and I KNOW that somewhere right now she is watching over all of us and well probably just hoping we have all stopped crying and are making the best of what we can and moving forward doing things that would make her proud.... 

Getting back to normal has been interesting this week and I know it will get easier but I feel like I have a bit of a different perspective on things now and I plan on using that perspective to make sure that I make the most of everything I have around me. I especially want to make sure that the people who were there for me, more than I could have ever imagined, know how much that means and that right now I just can't even find the words (shocking) to describe how lucky I am to be surrounded by those friends and my family.