I feel as though my first blog entry should allow a little
perspective into our lives—we wouldn’t want to dive too quickly into all our
adventures! Let me just begin with
this: Mark, I’m so PROUD of you for
getting the Rotary scholarship, and I am blessed to have you as my husband,
best friend, free entertainment, mechanic, handyman, plumber, father to my dog,
travel companion and all the other many roles you fill in my life. I wonder if our posts this year will contain
any stories about bats, swimsuit mishaps, disconnecting trains, salad-eating
cabin co-passengers on night trains, or our adopted grandchildren who rode the
train with us for 45 minutes during out last stay…
So since our last stage in France, Mark and I have been
leading somewhat “normal,” peaceful lives (those of you who have heard all my personal
stories about the joys of living with Mark, I’m sure you are all smiling right
now, or laughing until you snort depending on how many stories you have
heard). Mark has been teaching at Old
High (where most days he comes home expressing how he needs combat pay), and I
have been working for the Honors Program at MSU. I LOVE my job! And I get to return to it after our journey
to Lyon, which is more than I would have hoped to ask for. Mark will also be able to return to a job
within the WFISD. Solomon is doing well;
he will be 7 years old on July 8, and he is beginning to suspect we are
preparing to leave for a little more than a trip to the grocery store. Leaving him behind is by far the hardest part
of going for such a long time—and, of course, our families (sorry guys; didn’t
mean to put you all after the dog, but we know you understand and would feel
the same way in our shoes!!). However,
things worked out there as well, because a WONDERFUL Honors Program student and
a few of her friends not only wants to rent our house, furnished, but she also
volunteered to keep Solomon. And knowing
this student, Solomon couldn’t ask for a better substitute while we are
away—she already has lake trips planned, he gets to spend Christmas running
around in her parents’ fenced-in, one-acre yard, and she PROMISED to Skype with
us so that we can see him every once in awhile.
I have a feeling Solomon won’t even blink an eye that we’re gone once he
gets to know these girls a little better.
Don’t spoil him too much, girls!
I know Mark’s first entry consists of all the fun and
exciting paper trails that are never-ending during this process, which I
remember all too well from when I was an ambassadorial scholar, but I can’t
seem to focus for very long on that part of it.
So I’ll share my side of things instead!
This time, I am tasked with figuring out what I want to be when I grow
up (and lots of shopping while Mark’s in class, since he won’t be there to stop
me!!). I know it’s kind of late for
that; I am, after all, in the middle of working on a doctoral degree. But I don’t know what I want to do with it
ultimately. I developed a passion for translating
while in France in 2008-2009, and I still feel that fire alive in me, but I am
struggling with finding something important and interesting enough to focus on
as a big project. And, if I’m perfectly
honest, I just haven’t felt energized about doing research since the summer
began. I don’t know if it is because I
am just exhausted after two long semesters of commuting and taking courses
while working full-time, or if I am too full of anticipation about the year
ahead, but I feel less focused than I have since my father’s death. Of course, I haven’t really ever been able to
regain a sense of wholeness since he’s been gone (does anyone ever feel whole
again after such an experience?), but I know he would want me to find what I’m
passionate about and never give up on it.
It would be so great if I could talk to him about this new path, so
different from where I thought I was headed 5 years ago. I know it is best to go into these new adventures with no expectations, and just see where life takes us, so that is what I will do. But, just for fun, here are my "pretend" expectations, if I were to have any: I’m hoping all the free time in France will
allow me to feel rejuvenated, to stumble upon something to translate, and to
find a direction for my next stage in life.
No pressure, or anything…
At any rate, we’re both ecstatic about the opportunity to
live in France together again—as my mom says, we’ve been given a once in a
lifetime opportunity twice now. I hope
she takes advantage of it and comes abroad to visit this time. In fact, I hope that many of our friends and
family will come visit us (all of you, you know who you are—take advantage of
our awesome time in France, people!!).
There are no words to fully describe the experience of being in a
foreign place, and it is difficult to explain to people who have never
travelled. Of course, LIVING in a
foreign place is totally different than visiting, but we won’t go into that
here—there will be plenty of future entries regarding those differences, trust
me. I’ve probably bored you all enough
with my whole “putting things into perspective” entry, so I’ll end things
here. In short, I can’t wait to be back
in la belle France with Mark, and to see what doors will open for us on this
new journey.
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