Lockdown - Week Seven Recap!

I was reminded this week, while watching "Some Good News" with John Krasinski, of a Tony Stark quote:

Part of the journey is the end.  

We are approaching the end of our time in Paris.  As of May 2, we have just two months left of our year in France.  This really sunk in when we realized that the amount of time we have been in lockdown is about the amount of time we have left in Paris.  

With this realization came a lot of emotions.  

Sadness:  While we can't help but look ahead to returning to Northfield, we are sad that we will be leaving the place we have come to know and love.  We have adored the experiences we have had, the travel we have done, and the memories we have made.  There is also a sense of loss, knowing that this is coming to an end and that we will never be able to recreate it.  We dreamt about the possibility of a year abroad, worked hard to make it happen, enjoyed the heck out of many moments of it, and now face the uncertainty of an end.  With all of the planning and preparation we have done, we have yet to really plan for the emotions that come with the end of our time here in France.

Excitement:  We are all starting to think of things we are looking forward to at home. I am excited to see friends, eat some of my favorite foods, and enjoy the greenery and space that Northfield provides.  Will is excited to get back to all of his Legos, friends, and playing outside.  Edy is excited to see friends, roller blade, hug Daisy, and rejoin the swim team.  Jeff is excited to return to his books, dirt roads for long runs, and opening the windows during a rain storm.  We all find these thoughts to be in conflict with the sadness we also feel.  

Disappointment:  This is a tricky one.  We are definitely disappointed to not be able to travel as much as we had planned.  We had a trip to Greece and Rome planned, with the potential for another few days in London.  We also had plans to see the Loire Valley and to head to the south of France for a time.  These are missed opportunities, that if we let sit with us for a bit, make us sad to think are not going to happen this year.  At the same time, the planner in me has started thinking about when we can make them happen.  As I said in a blog post a few weeks back, just because these trips or experiences aren't happening now, doesn't mean they won't EVER happen.  We just need to delay for a bit.  It just wasn't meant to be right now.  

The same can be said for seeing more of Paris.  As some of you know, Jeff is trying to run as many streets as he can and the kids are trying to ride all the metro lines.  This time of lockdown has severely tampered these goals.  Yet, we would all agree that if we hadn't been quarantined to our neighborhood, we wouldn't have gotten to know it so well.  I now "know" my neighbors across the street because every night at 8:00 pm we meet and cheer for the medical workers.  When we see each other on the street, we now wave.  Will now "knows" Paris St. Germain's soccer stadium from playing soccer in front of it several times a week.  Edy now "knows" some fun secret passages down to the Seine that she discovered on her daily walks.  Jeff now "knows" all the streets in the 15th and 16th arrondissements because he has run EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!

Gratitude:  There is also a tremendous sense of gratitude.  It is not lost on us how blessed we are to be safe and healthy.  We are also incredibly fortunate to have had a year abroad in a foreign county.  We also are extremely lucky to have been able to do all that we have done.  There have been so many amazing memories created these past ten months.  (And just as many opportunities for learning, but that is for another blog post). While we aren't able to be "out and about," I am reminded of why we decided to do this year abroad in the first place.  The number one reason was to spend time together as a family.  Traveling, learning the language and culture, and making friends were all secondary goals.  This time of quarantine has helped to recenter us on our primary goal.  For a time, I was really concerned with fitting it all in - trying to travel as much as we could and see as much of Paris as possible.  But once we were grounded by the virus, we were able to get back to the real reason for being here - family time. 

In the past seven weeks, I have learned so much about the other three individuals in my family.  We have talked, played more, and just sat in each other's company way more than we ever have, or ever would have, had this pandemic not struck.  Because we aren't distracted by things in our own home, we are able to completely surrender ourselves to this time and space.  This does not mean it has been all sunshine and roses.  That has been what is amazing about it.  We are talking more about our needs and feelings.  We are learning to share when things are tough, ask for help when things seem oppressive, and comfort each other when nothing else will do.  I feel like in the past seven weeks, I have a better understanding of these three precious humans in my life.

Which leads me to yet another quote from "Some Good News" with John Krasinski.  His guest, Jon Stewart shared this piece of advice:

Let no opportunity be too small for your time.  Let no opportunity be too big for your possibility.  

The opportunity of quarantine has provided us with both.

If you made it this far in the blog, thank you!  I promise the rest will be much less emotional.  I will close with another montage of pictures from the past week.  Here is what we have been up to!

New Shoes:  Jeff bought new running shoes this week!  He desperately needed to replace his Brooks shoes.  When realizing that he couldn't get them from the same UK store I had, he went online to see if anyone in Paris sold them.  Sure enough, a few stores did, with one having the personal email address of an employee.  Jeff reached out to see if there was anyway he could stop by and get a pair.  (Remember all stores are closed in Paris.)  The guy emailed back and said he was willing to drive over a few pairs of shoes to our apartment for Jeff to try on.  So, on Thursday, Jeff met the guy in front of our apartment, tried on the shoes, and paid him, all while staying two meters apart.  

Have you ever bought shoes from the trunk of a car?

A perfect fit!

School:  In school this week, Will began a typing course.  I love watching him type, with his perfect posture, and deep concentration.  Edy continued to make amazing art, which she won't let me post on the blog.  Both kids completed masks for Aunt Judy's Science Saturday class.  I finished a 5 week Ring the Bell challenge, which included additional exercises to complete outside of a regular workout!

Will started typing!

A doodle for Edy is perfection for me.

Will's mask - a German gas mask.

Edy's mask - a traditional Hungarian mask to mark the transition of seasons.

Whoo-hoo!  

Out and About:  It might be quarantine fatigue that got me out and about further from home this week.  I definitely went more then one kilometer to capture some of these photos.    

The kids and I find the squiggly lines on the side of
old buildings fascinating.  We think they look like brains.  

I love all the brightly painted doors in Paris.

There is nothing left of this bike!

Flowers everywhere!

I have always wanted to get close to what the Parisians consider
the ugliest building in Paris - Tour Montparnasse.  

I made it.  

For Will, a memorial for those lost in World War I and World War II.

Our family lock is still on the Pont d'Iena!

Surprises:  Mostly, I was surprised this week by food!  Edy and Will made dinner for Jeff and me this week as a surprise.  I didn't even care that a major sibling fight may have been the catalyst for such an event.  It was wonderful to not have to go to the store to buy the ingredients or to prepare the food.  They can fight all they want, if this is the end result.    

Avocado toast with fried eggs.

I made a promise to myself that I while I was here I wouldn't eat any foods that I could buy in America.  This came to an end this week.  After 50+ days of making dinner for my family, I finally succumbed to the delicious smells of Domino's Pizza just down the street.  I am calling it a learning experience because Jeff and I had figure out how to order from them in this time of quarantine.  Even though we accidentally ordered three pizzas AND cheesy garlic bread, we ate it all.  We plan to do it again this week.  

Jeff is ordering our dinner outside the store.

The spread!

Finally, Edy and Jeff surprised me with flowers this week!  One of our neighborhood florists is open.  I have missed buying flowers weekly.

White roses!  

Reality:  I thought since we were two months from going home, it was time to start packing up a few things.  So this weekend, we collected all of our winter gear.  We also put together two boxes of books to ship home.  This was bitter sweet.

That concludes a recap of week 7!  This week will be our last week of lockdown normalcy.  Next Monday, May 11, things will start to open up.  I shared with you last week what that may look like.  We will hear more specifics this week of how that applies to us in Paris.  While at times the days seem long, the time has gone surprisingly quickly.  When I told the kids this week that we were in week 8 of lockdown, they were shocked.  I was as well.  I can't believe I am going to say this, but I think I will miss this time of forced togetherness...   

Love,

Betsy