nine months later.

I know what you're thinking..."nine months later" sounds like a pregnancy post. Au contraire! For those of you new to this blog, we got married just over nine months ago.  {So happy to have you reading this, by the way!} The night after our wedding, we flew to France for our honeymoon and spent a few days in Paris, before taking the train to Tours. {A place not a series of bus trips!} I studied in Tours in the summer of 2006, which, coincidentally, was the first two and a half months {cv} and I were long distance.

left to right: {av}, Maman Pat, + my dear friend {ln}

I lived with this lovely lady in pink, who we affectionately called Maman Pat. {Please excuse that crazy outfit by the way...not really sure what prompted that zebra short purchase!} The summer of 2006 was a trying one for me, mostly because I wasn't "getting" French as easily as I hoped I would and partly because I was missing {cv}. Ok, maybe it was partly because I wasn't getting French and mostly because I was missing my future husband...


I'll elaborate more on my summer abroad in future posts, but suffice it to say, I may not have been the happiest of tenants in Maman Pat's household that summer. I shared previously that I'm not the most adventurous eater, so I struggled telling Maman Pat that I didn't quite like "choses vertes" {aka green things} and that I missed my "petit ami" {aka boyfriend}. By the last three weeks of the summer, however, Maman Pat had done everything she could to make me more comfortable...including adding pasta to her shopping list for my benefit.


Back then, I may not have recognized her kindness, but over the years, I came to understand that--despite the language barrier--she really was trying to make me feel at home. So, when {cv} and I headed to Tours, I knew I needed to try and pay her a visit...

{my old front door!}

We dropped our bags at the hotel before venturing out into the little city I once called home. I knew a small flower shop, near my old apartment, and decided I should pick something out for Maman Pat. I chose a small pot of yellow daisies and wrote a quick letter, including an Instax picture of the two of us, to say hello--and thank you. We went to the knock on our old door--and got no answer. My disappointment brightened slightly when one of Maman Pat's other tenants returned home and we could {for ten seconds} step inside our old apartment. {cv} smelled the smells I knew so well and get a small taste of what my daily life in Tours was like. I didn't want to leave the flowers on her doorstep, but I thought it might be my only option...

left to right: Cecile + {av} in her jewelry shop

Until I remembered her daughter, Cecile, had a jewelry shop around the corner! I only hoped she would be there--and to my very pleasant surprise, she was! I explained {in broken French} who I was and asked her to kindly give the flowers and the note to her mother. {Her son, who Maman Pat babysat as a one-year-old during my summer in Tours, was running around the jewelry shop at the ripe age of 5. Crazy times.} I was elated to have made the connection--and I only hoped this little gesture would help Maman Pat know I appreciated her that summer.

Fast forward to Friday...nine months TO THE DAY from when we visited Cecile's shop. I opened my mailbox like any other day to A LETTER from Maman Pat! I seriously couldn't believe my eyes! She was so kind and so happy for the two of us--and asked me to stay in touch. She even wrote in English, which was a total shock because she didn't speak a word of it the summer I lived with her. {This made me think that maybe she was fooling me the whole time...but I sincerely don't think so.} I plan to write back soon, but I thought this was an absolutely appropriate way to show that a little gesture of thanks to someone else can bring you so much in return.

I waited to share this fun news with you until today because I loved what this lovely foursome of bloggers was doing...they were asking people to "spread the love" and share about an act of kindness they did over the last week . Though Maman Pat may not necessarily be a random person and this may have happened nine months ago, I still think it qualifies as spreading the love...and in a wonderful twist of fate, I was able to feel the love back. Maman Pat tried so hard to make me feel closer to home and it was my time to tell her just how much I appreciated that...I'm just so glad the message got through :)


I promise more stories about my time in France in future posts...thank you all for all the comment love, which in a very serious way, I consider that to be love that each one of you give me on a daily basis. I appreciate it more than words could ever really express. I hope you all might link up some time in the future with these ladies...I think it's a fantastic movement!

Can't wait to catch up on blogs after my first web design class at RISD tonight...

and I definitely want to recap my thoughts on the Golden Globes tomorrow! 

Thank you again for the daily encouragement and love! 

Until tomorrow, xoxo {av}