Tuesday 1 September 2009

Meanderings

And so we meander along the days of our lives, having quiet days, busy days, no-builders-here-today days, 'am I ever going to get on top of these harvest-time' days, 'when will it rain so we don't have to water' days, 'where has the French gone which was in my head but is no-where to be found' days, and most of all, fun days: because we laugh a lot despite the ups and downs that accompany relocating to a new land and learning new ways of living. Laughter is precious. Laughter is priceless. Better to have laughter lines on one's face rather than frown lines. Better to wear a 'happy' face when one is of an age when one's attitude to life has become stamped on one's face, rather than a 'snappy, irritated, miserable' face which carries a downward turning mouth and dull eyes.

And so we meander through the days of our lives, still 'pinching' ourselves in disbelief that we are actually living in France. We have been here just over a year. It feels like always, yet still feels as if we have just arrived.

The swifts are marshalling their forces. Round and round they are flying, zooming here, there, some just above our heads, some high up in the sky. They are not aimlessly doing birdy-things whatever it is that birds do when on the wing, neither does it seem like they are feeding on other things which fly through the air as well. They just seem to be very busy, excited almost. Well I suppose we all would be, if we were about to depart south to Africa sometime soon, like they are. And just now they have assembled into a flock and are flying en masse. Wow! I have high regard for those little creatures who fly for so long and for such a great distance. Bon courage for them as they go on their way.

We had drop of rain today. Well not so much of a 'drop' rather it was a light drizzle for all of an hour. However, soon the builders will be up on the roof beams and Sod's Law says that then the Heavens will decide to give us a thorough watering! Oh well, c'est la vie! AND the builders managed to be here for half a day, which is better than not being here at all.

Things I probably never will learn to do:
Open a box of matches the right way up so the contents do not spill out all over the floor when the box is opened.
Wash up more frequently: That when one is busy trying to keep up with jam and chutney making, that it is best to wash up first so the surfaces are less cluttered. Otherwise the mess is, quite frankly, horrendous!
Keep off the Internet when I have reams of writing to do and then get cross at myself because of the guilty feeling of having wasted good writing time.
Be cold and unfeeling towards people who are less than what they should be towards us.
Water the veggies as regularly they need thereby not doing the plants justice.
Be totally and ruthlessly organised.
Get into bed at a reasonable hour at night, and deny the creative flow which seems to start streaming in just as I am thinking that I ought to get off to bed.

Hoping that laughter is not too far away from you, I wish you happy travellings through your days as well.



4 comments:

TheChicGeek said...

This post is beautiful and so is your blog! I wish you much joy and laughter today :D

Have a Beautiful Day!

Vera said...

Thankyou for taking the time to make a response...we have had a beautiful day without so much as a draft of unpleasantness, and I hope yours turns out to be the same.

DUTA said...

You remind us of how important laughter is. It's indeed good for both mental and physical health. And do not forget beauty: better 'laughter lines than frown lines', as you say.

Vera said...

Laughter has been my saviour in life, and there is nothing like a really good, long, eye-watering, stream of laughter. Hope that laughter is your friend in life as well.