21 Sept
Much like the USA, the season of fall is here. A new school year begins. Daylight grows shorter. Temperatures are cooler. Also like in Virginia, there are days of heat, trees of green, and birds of song, thus still hanging on to summer. We are told, here in France, the leaves will change colors and drop, the rains will soon begin, and it will get cooler. We are nestled in a rocky dry landscape mixed with conifers and deciduous trees. So we will just wait and see. The pool is still open and Randy enjoys the healing effect of cold water.
Meanwhile, home activities still greet us daily. Either I have become lazy in getting the laundry outside or the sun shines a little differently now than in August. I have discovered another location for late afternoon drying.
One night we had chicken donuts and fries with Chick-fil-A sauce from home. Hey a girl’s gotta try.
We received a care package from Grandma and Grandpa. M was delighted!! (A few days later I found a place to get Kraft Mac and Cheese here, just under $4/box, finally) M enjoys making her own food and this will soothe the heart on so many levels.
Life as we know it continues to move on even though we cannot experience all the happenings back home. A babies are born, a friend’s 20 year old son passes away from cancer, an acquaintance is hit on her road bike by a drunk driver and dies, Queen Elizabeth passes away, bible studies begin, teen mommas send their babies off to school, friends have birthdays, the list goes on and we have to figure out how to embrace the life and friends we left back home.
The kids have been attending youth group activities here through our church. It has been a blessing to see them become excited about going to church and being with new friends. The French students want to practice their English, which helps M and Z communicate, however, it does not help them learn a ton of French. We are looking into French lessons. We do not want to waste this incredible opportunity of real French immersion.
Online schooling resumes, we tried schooling in Switzerland, that is all I can say, we tried! Below is a picture of the “school bus” for our French middle school for our friends. Middle school here is 6-9th grade and is known as the college level.
Lees in France 