The Granny I want to be.
After dropping the kids off at our little village school, I took the right turn that takes me back home. I checked over my shoulder for oncoming cars, and it […]
Write31Days
Holidays are for world-schooling
Well, we’re back from our adventure to Italy. Wow. The film director and family were staying at our place between the London film premiere and a London award ceremonies (yeay!). […]
The Q&A edition!
In this post, I ask my husband (aka Tall Mountain) to share from his perspective how the transition has affected him.. Alright. Why don’t you start by painting a bit […]
The five year plan
I’ve been checking out a few of the other #Write31Days participants’ blogs and they are just so varied and fun and engaging. I happened to notice that some writers even […]
Playdate anguish
It happened so fast. I was caught a bit off guard. Our boy was asked if he wanted to come over for a playdate and he excitedly said he’d love […]
C’est les vacances!
Like clockwork, for every six weeks of French school, there’s a two week holiday. Planning for these long breaks takes some clever organization that we don’t yet have down. Ideally, […]
A good place to get sick
I heard a smack, followed by a sound that I never want to hear again for as long as I live. It wasn’t my daughter’s normal cry. It was a […]
Christmas in October
Another thing I hadn’t mentioned in my last post about house guests is that they double up as postmen and women. Growing up, not one visitor flew to America or […]
Visitors: the good and the bad
We don’t know when it happens along the cross-cultural adjustment timeline, but at some point the outsider becomes an insider. You’re developing a sense of belonging in your new home. […]
Educational field trip
The kids started their school day with the “earthquake drill”, which seems funny because we aren’t living near any fault lines. Less funny, because “earthquake drill” is actually a preschool […]
Busted by the Swiss police
Back in the States, little Red, our trusty VW Passat, pretty much drove itself to the airport. It’s transported too many people to and from Denver International Airport to count. […]
French-Mex ridiculous
Precious friends of ours live on the other side of the lake from us, over in neighboring Switzerland. We had them over on one of those delightful summer evenings where […]
I’m the third-born
Hey, um, excuse me? I’ve been crying here for quite some time. Can you even hear me above the ruckus? Can someone just get me already? I know, I know, […]
The apple juice party
Our day got off to a beautifully slow start. Big kids were up before 6:00 but somehow, they played peacefully together giving us an hour to lie in. We moseyed […]
Not all French people are foodies
France has got to be one of the most romanticized countries on the planet. Foreigners picture men wearing berets kissing kids in knee-high socks as they cycle together to the […]
How language affects transition
The whole family speaks French, which is a relief. Such a relief. Honestly, I can’t imagine how foreigners do life in France without speaking French. That said, we all speak […]
‘Yes’ people in a ‘No’ culture
France is a country that will always be part and parcel of our family. I grew up here, Tall Mountain and I dated and got married here. Despite living in […]
Making friends in a new land
It takes time to develop friendships, you know, the non Facebook type. Local folks have often made their own group of trusted friends over the years. Expatriates are usually the […]
Our family in global transition: French preschool
Have you heard about the #Write31Days challenge? The idea is to go deeper into one topic each day for a whole month. It took me until today, October 3, to join […]