Les Merveilles de Noël

     A week from today is Christmas Eve. Wow! That came up fast! This is the first time I have been away from home for Christmas. I think I kept waiting for something to jump out that would remind me of Christmas from home; something that tells me that I am in the Holiday Season and should be merry. I didn't realize that it was already here, it was just in a different form. I can’t believe how incredibly lucky I am to be living in Paris, and to be here during Christmas. All around the city I am finding Christmas markets, ice skating rinks, Ferris wheels, twinkling lights, Christmas windows, merry-go-rounds, and lots of shopping.

Christmas Market next to the Eiffel Tower

     Every day there is something new and something wonderful! This week I went to several markets, movies, ate strange foods and visited an exhibit. There was also a lot of drama with Aimée, and I will be talking about the truth behind Santa in this blog. You have been warned.

     Paris is always having exhibits. The most recent one I went to was “Paris in Hollywood” at the Hotel De Ville by Notre Dame. It was about how the world views Paris and Persians because of the way Hollywood filmed them. It was really quite interesting. Paris created this culture and Hollywood glorified it.

     I rewrote my resume to send to my college this week. This isn't my first time rewriting it, but for some reason this time I was gripped by the idea that on this short piece of paper listed all my professional accomplishments. Sort of puts my life in perspective. Have a really done anything all these year? Haha! Has anyone else felt this way while writing a resume? 

Our Christmas Tree. I'm surprised
they didn't put any lights on it!

 This week we decorated the apartment for Christmas! That was fun and melancholy for me. At home I LOVED to decorate the Christmas tree, and my family always has these themes and color choices for the year (including pink!). It was very strange decorating someone else’s tree, but it was fun learning all their memories and stories brought back by various ornaments. The house looks beautiful! What a fun time of the year!

     Pre-teens… I don’t think I was very dramatic growing up. Sure I had my moments like anyone else, but now I am getting to live with a full blown dramatic pre-teenager. Thank goodness I was raised with TWO younger brothers! The roller-coasters of emotions that we experience with Aimée is hard! She was sent to bed without any dinner not once, but twice this week due to her attitude. There were several fights and one attempt at running away. Whew! Lucky things calmed down by the end of the week. 

     Good thing there are some funny stories that go with it! One night we were sitting at the dinner table having dinner, and Daniel was explaining something he had learned at school. What we figure is that Aimée got jealous (for whatever reason) and yelled at her brother “Shut Your Cake Hole!” This must have been a phrase she learned at school, because I have never heard it before. Both parents respond quickly, saying that was uncalled for and she needed to apologize, and Alain ended it with “he wasn't even saying anything wrong.” To which Aimée then turned to her dad and said “You Shut Your Cake Hole Too!” There are moments when someone says the wrong thing, and the whole room goes silent as it waits for a response. Daniel and I were on the edge of our seats waiting to see what was going to happen. And that was the first night that Aimée was sent to her bed without dinner. In the meantime “Shut your Cake Hole” has become a joke in the house. 

     Aimée has been very hot/cold all week, and Cecile has used the “Santa’s watching” card several times. Sadly Aimée’s first response was “There is no Santa! You are Santa!” Now, I should explain that my parents were very cleaver with keeping the magic of Christmas and Santa in my life for a very long time, and I am not ashamed to say that I was quite old when I learned the truth. So that being said, as she spit this back at her mom one dinner my insides yelled “NO!! The magic is gone!” Oh and Daniel is sitting there, all big eyed and quiet. Thank goodness Cecile handled it well and the magic is still there, but that lead to another argument and followed with Aimée’s second missed meal.

Tree Topper

     I knew that Cecile was sad about Santa, and even though it was something she knew she would need to talk to Aimée about it more, it was something she would rather not bring up. Well a few months ago I found a story on Pinterest that explained the magic of Christmas perfectly, so I showed it Cecile hoping it might help. It made her cry. Here is the story:

Decorations they put on my door.

“A few months back, the Tooth Fairy got busted. She left a note for Alice up on her computer, and Lucy figured the whole business out. The Tooth Fairy cursed her need to write notes in elaborate fonts and tried to come up with a cover story, but it didn’t fool Lucy. To her credit, Lucy has kept the secret from her little sister, who still hasn’t lost a tooth and deserves to wake up with money under her pillow. But the Tooth Fairy knew it couldn’t be too long before Santa was similarly unmasked. She didn’t know when or how, but she knew the days of magic in her house, at least magic of a certain sort, were coming to an end. And the Tooth Fairy—by which I mean myself—was pretty darned sad about the inevitable, which finally arrived last week. Lucy and I have been exchanging notes since the school year started. We’ve talked about all sorts of things—sports, books we’d like to read, adventures we’d like to have, even stories from when I was in third grade. For the most part, though, it’s been light, casual stuff. Until last week. I NEED TO KNOW, she wrote, using capital letters for emphasis. ARE YOU SANTA? TELL ME THE TRUTH. What do you do when your kid asks for the truth? You tell it, of course, doing your best to figure out a way that keeps at least some of the magic intact. Here’s what I wrote: Dear Lucy, Thank you for your letter. You asked a very good question: “Are you Santa?” I know you’ve wanted the answer to this question for a long time, and I’ve had to give it careful thought to know just what to say. The answer is no. I am not Santa. There is no one Santa. I am the person who fills your stockings with presents, though. I also choose and wrap the presents under the tree, the same way my mom did for me, and the same way her mom did for her. (And yes, Daddy helps, too.) I imagine you will someday do this for your children, and I know you will love seeing them run down the stairs on Christmas morning. You will love seeing them sit under the tree, their small faces lit with Christmas lights. This won’t make you Santa, though. Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer than any of us have lived. What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teaches children how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch. It’s a big job, and it’s an important one. Throughout your life, you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in your talents and in your family. You’ll also need to believe in things you can’t measure or even hold in your hand. Here, I am talking about love, that great power that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest, coldest moments. Santa is a teacher, and I have been his student, and now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneys on Christmas Eve: he has help from all the people whose hearts he’s filled with joy. With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turns helping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible. So, no. I am not Santa. Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness. I’m on his team, and now you are, too. I love you and I always will. Mama” - Martha Brockenbrough (Pinterest) 

     I have found this to be the best description of Santa I have ever seen. I know that it helped Cecile, and if she will tell Aimée I don't know, but I hope that it will at least keep the magic with her for a bit longer. I read it a few months ago I knew that it was something I was going to need to hold on to. It was the most beautiful/ perfect way to describe Christmas to a curious child. Although I'm going to try many tricks with my kids, like my parents were able to do for me for so many years.

Eating the Sea Fish. 

     This week for dinner we had sea fish! It was crazy! The kids didn't eat any of it (they had salmon), but I decided why not. I don't know what most of it was called (I will need to ask Cecile) It was like giant shrimp and tiny shrimp. You all know that I haven't been a very big fish eater (except for Sushi, yeah I know I’m weird), but I tried it and it wasn't too bad. 

     Aimée finally had the birthday party with her friends this week. It was at the end of the week and at that point we had seen the worst of her mood swings. It was Cecile, Daniel, me, Aimée and five of her friends who went to see Wreck it Ralph (Le Monde De Ralph). It was all in French, but I understood most of what was going on. Aimée was up and down. I think she needed to be toughened up. She is SO sensitive. It is not very good at all. She got mad because one of the girls that came said that she should have invited this other person. When we got to the movie she went and sat in a seat far away from everyone else. Her mom needed to go talk to her, and her friends were all saying how it was very typical Aimée and that she was just being a brat (I could hear them whispering). Then she was mad that one of the girls forgot to bring her present. I don't know how to teach her that this is not how a person acts. She is not going to have any friends if she keeps it up.

      Seeing Aimée with her friends made me very grateful for my friends and the way I was raised. Not that Cecile and Alain are bad parents, but sometimes I think having a strong spirit to grow up in is good for children. It was a lot easier to let go of a grudge toward a friend after going to church every Sunday where I was reminded that everyone deserves to be forgiven and given a second chance, and that there are things more important than the material things we are given.

Found out what these are called! Yum! 

     On a happy note! Yesterday was Sunday and I got to see all my favorite people! I went to Church, walked around a Christmas Market and saw the new Anna Karenina movie. Wow! That movie was a quite a trip, but the costumes were amazing! A great day!

     Now the last thing I want to address what the tragedy in Connecticut. I can't understand a situation like this. It is big news here. Everyone knows what happened, and all eyes are on America right now. What will the gun happy States do? It is hard for me to explain what happened to people here. They don’t understand it. Guns are not allowed on the streets of Paris, and it takes a lot of paperwork and permits to get a gun here. I am at odds with what be a solution to the problem the States are repeatedly faced with, and by reading through several comments online about what the country/ government should do to make a change there are several issues at hand. Clearly our gun laws are not working, but it is more than just that. Could it be that this guy was on too much medication to the point of insanity? That seems like the best explanation, but the question is, why do we need to find an explanation for a situation like this? Why do we need to arm our teachers, or heighten the security of school when we could be focusing on ways to prevent people from going over the edge in the first place? Maybe we need to focus on what we are teaching our students. Regardless of the ifs and the whys, there is going to need to be a change, and if you are the kind of person that is not willing to make a sacrifice for the sake of saving a life then you are the problem. This issues is not going to go away until the nation stops picking one side or another based on their political views, and decides where they stand and what they believe is right. The world is watching, and they know the disputes of U.S.A. better than most U.S. citizens. We need to stop standing to the side to watch these things happen. Overall, I can't believe that we are needed to address this issue, AGAIN.

      Keep these families in your prayers.

There are always peaceful
protests in Paris.

     Next week is Christmas, and I am lucky, my family is coming to see me. It reminds me that Christmas isn’t when I decorate a tree, or when it snows. True Christmas is when I am with my family and remembering how blessed I am. I Miss you, and Love you all.