bastille day

last year at this time, on this day, jane arrives in paris, without me. i am still in rwanda at that moment - and we chat whilst i sip french press coffee on the terrace overlooking kigali. she arrives safe and tells me that yes, all of my quirky hotel requests for our french love nest have been met. i plan to join her the following day after traipsing through nairobi, bruxelles, and finally onto the capital.

jane enjoys that day in the most carefree way ... drinking wine, sipping coffee, eating cheese, exploring on foot, chatting to strangers ... a small slice of heaven for her, and a treat to be alone for a few hours while traveling. by the time i arrive in france some twenty-four hours later, she is settled in and super relaxed, asking me to call in my breakfast order from the metro as i near the hotel so she can have it waiting for me in the room.

simpler times, for certain. in fact, we have dinner with our parisien friends, david-alexandre and aurelie, who we met originally in india. over dinner at (how clichéd) a charming french bistro (the real deal), we end up talking about the proliferation of cancers amongst young people - our peers. it seems to be as common to that side of the atlantic as it is to our own left bank. we certainly could not have projected that jane would include herself in this group just a few months later.

the incredible amount of support we receive from these friends, as well as all of our other friends scattered across the globe, is amazing and inspiring. having met people throughout our travels, as well as during the period we lived in the city, we are able to share our lives with those residing in far-flung countries. made particularly more efficient these days with texting, skype-ing, video chatting, and email.

so we think back fondly to last year's bastille day and allow that happy memory to further sustain us and make us realize that yes, we have truly taken advantage and relished all those good moments - and plan to continue to do so for a long, long time!!!

paris in the spring

we rarely need an excuse for an escape, although i'd say the last little bit has lead us to a hankering for all things french. a tartine at café sesame. a cheese plate at fromagerie 31. a glass of wine outside in st. germain. a late night romp through the palais de tokyo, or dancing on the batofar. or maybe a midnight movie at mk2.

i think that's a good sign - moving forward, thinking ahead - shopping, walking, bike riding, and general merriment (not the eliot spitzer kind, of course!). at least we know we're vulnerable, not like the governor! oh, when will they ever learn?

alas, no paris today, just back in the saddle (jared does remark after school that he feels as if he's been on holiday - he must have had some weekend, 'cuz i NEED a holiday!). jane is totally zombied from lack of sleep, although frankly this last round of chemo has not been nearly as bad as number 3. she's definitely a bit worn around the edges, but altogether whole and fine - last time it was as if she had been slammed against a wall. i'm sure that the psychological boost of completing this course is also physically uplifting. tomorrow we'll do a bit of shopping at lunchtime, maybe get some spring frocks to go with that mood.

jane is invited to join a trip to israel (ruth, you're the best!), but can't actually go as her surgery is scheduled for that time in early april ... too bad, i would have loved for her to go! we drop by a dear and hysterical friend late afternoon who just had a similar procedure to jane (yes, another), who's doing amazing! so happy to see!

kids have been good of late! outside playing ball, reading, i-chatting, and not completely and utterly hyper like normal. very sweet actually, nice to be in a good groove and not shrieking at the top of my lungs like usual.

so that's it for today - dinner's done, laundry's folded, lunches packed, work tied up - and chaos slowly but surely drawing to a close!

h