The Kaleidoscope Turns, the Compass Shifts

(I couldn't make up my mind on which title I liked best for this post so I decided to use them both!  You'll understand why if you keep reading.)
  
     I have always been fascinated with kaleidoscopes.  I love how the little pieces of colored glass fall into different places each time you turn the cylinder.  And then somehow you have a brand new pattern - a new perspective.  It's the same number of pieces of glass, but now they look different.  Just as beautiful, but different.  Isn't that the same with life?
     One of my first blog posts was entitled "My Eastward Pointing Compass."  I talked about how my heart was looking towards France and my desire to move there, to follow my dream of living in France someday.  And what a marvelous dream it has been!!  I wouldn't change it for the world!
     But . . . .  I think it was towards the end of November, around Thanksgiving in the States, when it hit me that I would be spending the holidays away from Andy and everyone I loved back in Colorado.  I also found that when I talked about "home", that it was Colorado that I meant, not France.
     I had planned to fix a traditional American Thanksgiving meal for H and G and my neighbors in the next cottage.  I brought all my recipes, but then found out that many of the ingredients I take for granted as being able to get in the States, are not available in France.  So I was disappointed that I couldn't make a Thanksgiving meal.  I eventually made a "sort-of" Thanksgiving meal - just for me as my oven and fridge are small and not able to hold all the usual dishes.  But it was far from what I had planned.  
     I loved being in France at Christmastime.  I had never experienced that before.  And here in the beautiful SW of France it was truly magical with the village Christmas markets and lights and traditional activities.  But, oh how I missed Andy and my usual Christmastime activities in Colorado.
     After the exhausting search for a car, I was in no mood to start looking for a house knowing that would be many times more difficult and stressful.  It was then that I realized I am living my dream right now.  I don't have to own a house and stay committed to living in France indefinitely to enjoy being here.  I love being here, but I want to go "home".
     My definition of home has changed some.  I used to think "Home is Where the Heart Is", and to an extent that is true.  However, I have come to realize that "home" is where the people you love are.  I love being here, but I love even more my family and friends back in the States.   And I miss them terribly.
     One of my realizations while living here and talking to ex-pats, mainly from England, is that most of them moved here to escape a life that they found unfulfilling or stressful; they didn't like the weather where they were, they were searching for sunshine and warmth, somewhere they could be outside most of the time and be healthier.  They moved here as a way out of a place they no longer wanted to be.
     But that was not at all why I came here.  I have never stopped loving Colorado!  I just wanted to be able to see what it was like to actually live in this country that I love so much.  I've been here almost seven months and have loved all that I've been able to see and do as a "resident alien".  Oh, I've had my share of stressful situations and difficult times with bureaucracy.  I think that exists in every country!

One of my favorite sights ever!

     Life here has truly been grand - like living in a fairytale.  Everywhere I look I see something that I love - the rolling green hills, the church steeple in the neighboring village, the castle tower on the hillside as I drive the 30 minute route into Auch, the absolutely breathtaking beauty of the cathedral in Condom just 20 minutes away, the Thursday morning market in Eauze .  And add to that, my wonderful new friends, Hélène and Giuseppe!  I don't know what I would have done without their constant help, guidance, encouragement, laughter and daily presence in my life!  I owe them a debt of gratitude and have offered them a standing invitation to come spend time with me in Colorado - if they can figure out how to leave their business for that long.

The neighboring hillside

The church in Vic

A medieval tower in a nearby town

Inside the Cathedral St Pierre in Condom

     I will be moving back to Colorado three weeks from Tuesday - March 28th.  As a good friend has said, "another chapter of your life begins".   Who knew there could be so many chapters of your life beyond retirement? ha!  The thing is, I miss my life in Colorado more than I love my life here.  I never left the Springs because I was unhappy or unsettled or looking for a better place to live.  I have always loved living in the Springs.  It has always been and always will be "home" for me.
     I am so happy that I followed my dream and came to this lovely little corner of SW France - if only for seven months.  It has all been worth it.  (Not sure CoCo would agree with that!)  AND, I'll get to enjoy two Springs this year - my favorite season.  How is that possible, you ask?  Well, Spring has arrived in the Gers.  The daffodils and pansies are blooming.  The irises and tulips are ready to bloom.  The farmers are getting ready to plant their summer crops.  The grass is green and the leaves are beginning to show on the trees that didn't lose their leaves over the winter.

Flowers at the cottages

     When I get back to Colorado the end of this month, it will still be winter.  Colorado has our biggest snows in March and April and then we'll start to see green appear.  So I'll be back in time to see Springtime in the Rockies.  There is so much about the Springs that I have missed and can't wait to get back into my weekly/monthly routine of lunches and dinners  and movies with friends (I have really missed Mexican food and buttered popcorn!), my weekly zoo visits - my babies won't remember me! - seeing Andy every week, hiking in the Garden of the Gods and seeing Pikes Peak everyday.
     You have all been so wonderful throughout this journey!  I never thought I would have so many followers and readers of my blog.  I have felt your encouragement and love all along the way.  Sorry I won't be here for those of you who said you would come and visit me.  But let me know when you're planning to come and I can give you the names of some great holiday home owners! :-)
      I plan to continue the blog for awhile as I turn over this next chapter in my life.  It won't  be the same, obviously, as sharing my adventures in France.  But I will have a car to buy and eventually a house and that will offer its own kind of adventure if you're still willing to join me.  
     I am so very appreciative of your willingness to accompany me as I have traveled around the many bends in the road to get here.  Your presence has been felt everywhere I go.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart - a piece of which will always be in this little corner of France! Next week I'll share with you some of my favorite things from my life in France.   Merci!.