The words just kept on flowing out.
I was excited to be making the cross over with a blog acquaintance and her friend from the virtual world to reality, especially as it had popped out of the big blue. A little shy too because I am sometimes. And so the words kept coming out in an overflow, covering and revealing.
As grateful as I am for all of my contacts with the online community, I miss the simple joy of delighting in girlfriend time, especially with such a lovely and engaging duo. The expat community in Arles is tiny dots and so it is extremely rare that I sip San Pellegrino with women who speak the same language, have the same cultural references and laugh at the same second with an acknowledgement of a certain play on words. Face to face, seeing flickers of expression, I realize that many French women that I know keep a far more steely control and that the exchange is based more on dialogues than volleys.
This difference brewed like a wealth of communication in comparison on this particular rainy afternoon. A casual reassurance rested somewhere next to the straw on the table between us by just being present.
A bit like sunset up on the roof that spills the brim of its cup. And so were my words, pulling a string of scarves out of a silk top hat, to chase from red to pink to gold. Stories to tell and be heard. For once I will try not to worry if it was too much.
I woke up wondering. I remember that I am lucky but also that I feel what I know. A sugar sort of bittersweet overflow.
I would just love to be an expat in Arles! I remember the lavender ice cream so well…Nice post. Jeannine
I'm so glad you had this opportunity to meet up with some of your blogger friends! We /I take for granted being able to talk/joke/banter with friends & loved ones. Glad you were able to enjoy it fully and glad we get to see the beautiful photos that accompanied your visit! Life is good, or, as Pema Chodron says, our fundamental situation is joyful!
And sometimes you can be in your home country and still have that yearning, while sitting at the computer spilling out words and thoughts, of just having a moment or two with a friend face-to-face. . .
P.S…….I love the line "and later, a guy no one knew came to sit in". I think it's brilliant….but that's to be expected of Cheryl at one point or another in almost all of her songs.
—-david terry
Dear Ye Olde Heather…..yes (and as you wrote) we need to remember that we're lucky…and that most folks do, on an individual basis, "feel what I know".
that was a lovely posting.
Go to (one of my three or four favorite songs by my two or three favorite songwriters):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkemIg381so
You ARE lucky (or maybe just prematurely wise), finally, in your seeming to recognize that there are more stories and songs out there than there are stars in the sky.
This song is about that.
Quite sincerely,
David Terry
http://www.davidterryart.com
This comment has been removed by the author.
"Pulling a string of scarves out of a silk top hat" is a brilliant, evocative analogy. Reading your words, I can feel what you feel. Thank you for that.
Best…Victoria
Even after 38 years in France mostly speaking French, I still enjoy the occasional dinner with other English speakers despite the fact that they're not Australians like me. And I love to meet up with visiting Australians even when I don't know they very well. It's like coming home, even though my real home is France.
Nothing lifts the heart quite as high as sharing conversation and laughter with a friend. (Except for maybe your gorgeous surroundings!)
Oh, how I miss more regular "girlfriend" time that is face to face! We do become so used to our online communities, and wonderful though they are, they're not quite the same as real life…
(Stunning photos, as always.)
Bisous.