Robin's Birthday Party - Sunday, Oct 28

We're back in Toulouse today for Robin's 15th birthday party.  It's another of those experiences we feel lucky to have, where we can be a part of normal life in France, not tourists but friends.  Our continued visits, and their presence in our trip, is an anchor for us.

Our friends’ friends treat us as good friends of their friends.  Which is intimidating in a way.  They arrive at the door, recognize our "bonjour" as coming in an American accent, and switch to English to talk to us.  People are courteous all day, accomodating our limited language skills.  The conversation over lunch is in English so we can join in.  We talk politics a little, with the US election coming up next week.  They ask what we've most enjoyed during our visit and we tell them that our favorite southern city is Albi.  Which is true, but also diplomatic.  It's not Toulouse, but it does stand on its own merits.

We have burgers and fries for lunch.  That, and wine, of course.

 

 

Eventually the guests leave and Maxine and I finish out our last evening with Bill's family.  I'm particularly pleased that after a month of spending time together, Emily is comfortable with me.  She helps me with my French pronunciation (seriously), correcting me when I don't roll my "r's" sufficiently.  Later, we're at the point when we're all saying our goodbye's at the end of the evening.  She's grabbing my leg to keep me from leaving.  It feels poignant -- her parents have told me that she gets sad that while her siblings see their godparents with some regularity, Emily only rarely sees me.  My experience with godparents has been this.  My mother's sister is my godmother.  And, with my mother dead, my Aunt has been one of my strongest links to childhood, to my mother's family, and I guess to a sense of being looked out for.

I tell Emily that we can Facetime, but I know it isn't the same and I feel bad for her disappointment.  When we'd seen them in LA a year prior we didn't expect to see them so soon, but we did.  However, we leave tonight pretty certain that it will be years, as many as four years, until we see them again...