Expectations. Oh la, that word! It just keeps back and pinching me, hard. I feel like I am on a loop of learning that particular lesson over and over again.
Last year at this time, I wrote about how birthdays have always been a very big occasion in our family, as in blow-up balloon size. But at the time I had the deeply quieting realization that I was exactly where I needed to be and nothing could améliorer such a simply perfect day. And yet, two weeks ago the wheels started turning, “Where should we go? What should we do?” and most importantly “What should we eat?” I plotted and planned and all for naught. For on Saturday, everything went utterly awry and by accident, only when I had let everything go did I see an ad announcing that it was the first day of the Foire Internationale at L’Isle Sur La Sorgue, one of the largest antique fairs in the South of France! Interestingly enough, our last visit there was also a last minute decision, on Christmas Eve.
As Remi often says, “Life is always right.” We had an absolutely wonderful time.
Dreaming can be the best gift of all.
And while we were tempted by much, certainly both the starburst mirror and the elegantly drawn sanguine, again the unexpected won the day. We came across a stand run by a charming woman selling vintage sunglasses. A true collectioneuse, she knew the origins of everything that she had, all while taking the steps to replace worn lenses and dig out lots of glasses that had never been worn such as my sparklers below. Remi bought me two pairs, a wonderful gift that will be put to good use in my daily strolls here in sunny Provence. A silly goose I may be from time to time but that doesn’t prevent me from being a stylish one…
Thank you again to all of you that left wonderful Birthday wishes and emails! And so I step in to another year with hopes of learning more, appreciating all that I have and loving with an open heart…
Your post brought back wonderful memories of a market day in that very city on our trip through Provence. . .it was a regular market filled with lavender, soaps, and harvested treasurers. I may need to go dig out the photo album and relive its temptations. Glad you had a great birthday.
LOVE the table with the colored glasses (and their long shadows; SO beautiful!!), the coffee grinders, and the bird cages. Also, all the colorful exteriors. And love the lesson in expectations – one that I need to practice every single day! So glad that you had a lovely, go-with-the-flow birthday!
Well, a Happy Birthday to you, Heather…
I thought of you just yesterday, when I finally found a batch of small pictures that had gone missing in the move (the recovering drug-addicts from TROSA, who moved our two houses, were very nice & sweet, but not terribly adept at processing requests such as "please put that that in the second guest bedroom above the second staircase"….I found the pictures in a storage closet under the entry staircase).
In any case, I found "Happy Zen Dog", which I believe belongs to you. Would you please email your mailing address again? I have it somewhere, but that "somewhere" would be amidst the 609 (I'm not kidding) backed-up emails from the past month that I've got on this computer. I'll have this baby (the picture, not the computer) shipped off to you once I know the address.
Incidentally (and you should find this amusing), I'm considering following my pal, Geraldine Brooks's, advice/example. As you may know, she's a very well known war-journalist (married to Tony Horwitz, the equally renowned journalist/writer) turned novelist.
Everything was just fine & manageable in her life until she received (not having known that she was even nominated for her novel "March") what her 10 year old son referred to as "The Pulitzer Surprise".
As you might guess….the following year brought, with every single day and most of every night, a catastrophic FLOOD of mail and email from strangers….more than she could even read, much less respond to. When I whined, a year or so ago, about the number of backed-up emails I had, she advised me to do as she had done……simply declare "email bankruptcy" by composing a short email and posting it (this function is simple) to everyone who's emailed you.
The note politely, but tersely, informed the world that Geraldine Brooks, having incurred more email-obligations than she could ever possibly acquit herself of, was declaring email-bankruptcy. If you wanted/expected/or thought you were owed a reply…..then simply write again, very quickly, to get in que (sp?). The first 100folks who were owed would be duly compensated; everyone else was just screwed-unto-the-very-lord and would have to start all over again.
At the time, I thought that plan was terribly funny. Just now, I'm thinking it's desirably PRACTICAL.
In any case, a happy birthday to you, and re-send your mailing address to me when you have the time.
P.S. (in regard to Remi's present?)…you wouldn't know that, the first time we, venturing beyond the Loire Valley and Perigord after years visiting there, went to Provence?……
Well, I didn't even think of bringing sunglasses (I grew up in the Smoky Mountains and have never worn them back home). I ended up wearing a pair of clip-ons (I've worn regular glasses since I was six) that belonged to Herve's grandmother and were lent to me, at the last minute, by my mother-in-law. And, yes….they had little rhinestones at the corner of each temple. I never found a pair that would fit over my granny-glasses, so I just wore those everyday for the entire trip (except for when we visited Vicki Archer, who probably would have noticed, although she'd be too polite to mention the oddity of receiving a man in optical-drag). I was profoundly self-conscious for the first five or so hours, but I eventually thought "OH hell…it's FRANCE. Nobody knows me, nobody can see my eyes…and what's the point of going abroad if I don't do what's easiest for me?"
I should emphasize that NO ONE batted so much as a single eye the entire three weeks I wore those things. I mentioned this, and Herve helpfully reminded me that "La Cage Aux Folles", for all its success on Broadway, did not originate in the USA.
Happy Birthday,
David Terry
wwww.davidterryart.com
Looks like it was another GREAT day and outing!BRAVI!Love the sunglasses!LOVE the photo of YOU!xoxo
Happy birthday, Heather! Pictures are truly amazing! I would love to be there now too!
Hello Heather:
We should have had an absolute field day. We can scarcely believe our eyes – so many goodly things gathered together and ready to be pounced upon. Wonderful as, indeed, are your sunglasses.
Auguri!!! I love the sunglasses. And I want to come to the Foire next year. Is it only once a year? It looks incredible.
Happy Birthday, dear Heather! The most wonderful way to spend a special day. Some great finds made it even better. Improvisation and spontaneity is all it takes to really enjoy the the surprise of the moment. Expectations and plans could make a predictably nice day instead you and Remi got a wonderful day of happenings.
Happy Belated Heather,
I too ,often let expectations get in the way of what should "really" occur in life. But it's hard sometimes to know the exact answer, so we act on our feelings. Nothing wrong with that, provided good things happen. I love that "market". I saw and experienced it for the first time while staying at Les Trois Figuiers in Lagnes. The food that Julien prepares there is magnificent, pure French country…. Those sunglasses are fabulous. I could have bought tons of things if only I lived there…..
I'm loving the glasses Heather! Great find! They are perfect 🙂 What a wonderful outing! I like the furniture, paintings,.. and that mirror is gorgeous!
leslie