Mark, the children and the grandchildren and the children's friends
have all gone back to England. The toys have been put back in the upstairs bedroom,
the wet suits have been washed, the inflatables have been stored in the pool
house…..and peace has been restored. For a while there will just be Carole ( our oldest children's mother..... sounds complicated, but it isn't and it works well ) and me, here at the house in Caunes. Then when Carole returns to England next week.....just me.
I hope they
have all had agood time, and most importantly that the grandchildren have had a memorable time. Our role models for being grandparents, friends who
live in Arizona, have always said that their purpose is to create memories for
their grandchildren. I do hope that this years’ first visit by the 4
grandchildren will start a wonderful and ever growing collection of French
memories for them.
I hope they
will recall when they first practiced their “bonjours” and “au revoirs” at the boulangerie.
I want them to remember the different food they have tried and liked, the
parrot they met on the beach at the lake in Carcassonne. I know they will
remember chasing grandad’s shadow on the walk in to town, storm watching from the terrace, the joy of jumping
into their own swimming pool, climbing on marble statues and hiding in the huge
holes in plane trees that miraculously still stand despite the caverns within
them.
 |
| storm watching from the safety of great big Egyptian shawls |
Some of them
will be returning again in August for a second round…..but until then, I am now
revelling in the peacefulness of not having 4 under 5s in the house. It was
wonderful spending time with them all, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,
but…….just for a while I had forgotten the sound of silence !
That is the beauty of grandchildren - lovely to have them, to love and hug them, but when they return home the stillness, quiet and peace is overwhelming. Grandchildren love their grandparents and visa versa, it is a very very special relationship.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, I really had forgotten how quiet the house can be...just birds singing and the occasional wind disturbed tannoy announcement from the Marie. I expect I'll be craving more noise soon, but for the moment, it's good. J.
DeleteYou have indeed laid down some wonderful memories - and not just for those important younger members of your impressive extended family - for everyone. And through blogging, we can remember these things with you in time to come! Formidable, as they say in your part of the world. (Cojonudo, as they say, rather more inelegantly here!)
ReplyDeleteAxxx
Thanks Annie,One of the "problems" of the house being full though, is that somehow time for blogging seems to vanish. I am enjoying catching up on reading other people's posts from the last few weeks, as well as thinking that I may have time for more than one a week myself. Jxxx
DeleteWe don't have children, but our happiest memories of France are those of having the house full of friends and family...children up trees, on boats on the river, picnics on the islands and climbing on the rafters....
ReplyDeleteChildren entranced by the evening exodus of bats from the eaves, listening to the owls, laughing at the noise of the rooks coming home in the late afternoon, lying on their stomachs to try to see the carp in the shallow water....
Children making noise with their games....
When they'd gone, though the peace was blissful, the house did seem empty.
Yes, it is emptily quiet, and I know I will look forward to the return of games and adventures. The quiet is very good though ! J.
DeleteThanks for the 'plug', Janice. Just returned from Laurie's #2 son's graduation...more memories. All our 'kids' and many of the 'grands' are coming in July (brave people to come then to AZ!!) for Lee's b'day bash as he, as he says, "Enters his 4th quarter and planning on overtime".... I've set up my work space to do the g'kids' albums - how they love to go through theirs when they come here. I just didn't know when I began w/David's so many years ago that I would be doing 12 of them! Enjoy the "Sound of Silence"....
ReplyDeleteJane...where do the years go ? Lets plan lots and lots of overtime. I'm hoping that my blogs may become something that the kids will look back on one day....and I do prepare photo books of special times.....making memories and then making sure they are remembered ! love janice xxxx
DeleteHi Janice,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like wonderful memories for both the grandchildren and the grandparents!
Enjoy the silence, but I expect you are already looking forward to receiving the next visitor...
Yes Gaynor, I am...but I cant believe how lovely it is to be quiet, just for a little while. J,
DeleteRosemary summed it up for me, Janice - lovely to have the grandchildren to stay and lovely to have the peace and quiet and happy memories when they've gone home again. :-) We have plenty of room here in Wales, but our French cottage is small and it's a bit of a squash when any of the children and grandchildren visit, so that the house does seem suddenly much bigger when they depart. But I wouldn't miss their visits for the world. Enjoy the silence and space while it lasts....
ReplyDeleteExactly....it has been wonderful having them all here, but I am really enjoying this little period of tranquility. Good luck for your travel in the next few days..hope it all goes smoothly. J.
DeleteEnjoy the quiet as it settles in around you, Janice, and the nice memories that were surely made with and by and for the grandchildren. I love that mellow feeling of just being after so much activity.
ReplyDeleteMellow is exactly the right word Penny. It is enabling me to muster the energy for the next visit ! I have now had a few days with just Carole here, and I feel really relaxed.Hope things are good with you. J.
DeleteMy daughter deflated my balloon a few months ago by saying " I don't know why you took me to all those places when I was a kid, because I don't remember them " I refuse to believe her, I bet she does the same with her kids when they come along.
ReplyDeleteOooh,kids can be so cruel. I bet, not only will she do the same with her kids, she'll say " Grandma used to do this with me...."
DeleteI think that some great memories were made not just for the kids but adults also.....sounds like you had a super fantastic time with your Family...... it will also be nice to have some peace and quiet, and before you know it they will return to make more memorable memories. You sound like a very nice person to make everyone feel so welcome and go out of your way for them......hard to find someone like you these days. Thanks for sharing your story. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou are very kind Erica ( Irene). I loved having all the family with me, and am already looking forward to their return, but my guilty secret, which is not particularly secret to anyone...is that I also love quiet time ! Hope all is well with you. J.
Delete