day 54 - SkyLines from the French Lock-down: Anticipation

Bonjour nos amis! (Hello our friends!)  I have happy butterflies in my heart as I think about the end of the lock-down. But I can hear my dad's advice to the young me which was, "Nothing is ever as good or as bad as you think it is going to be." The years have proved him right. So, when I'm looking forward to something, I try to be realistic and remember to just enjoy it and not feel let down if it's not as fantastic as I've been thinking it will be. Conversely, I remind myself that the dental work will not kill me and to just be brave. Eight weeks ago, we went into confinement. We will soon be free. Anticipation is growing. 

Where I hope to be on "D-day" is in my little village after 55 days away.

Day 54 - The excitement about what the French are calling "le jour de de-confinement" or "le jour de liberation" is building. I'm calling it "D-day." Ever since the day we began this people spoke of what they would do when it was over. The most common phrase was "We'll share a good cold

Espresso to go from Arnaud's this morning.
Will this really be the new normal?

beer with friends at the brasserie" or "Raise a glass of wine in a cafe."  One friend fervently vowed, "Champagne!" If my parents still lived in Paris, my mom would have exclaimed, "Lunch at Maxim's." My French partner, Y planned for us to sit at a sidewalk cafe, soak up the sunshine, drink espresso, and watch people go by.  It is one of our favorite past-times, especially on market days. I know now that we had a misplaced fairy-tale hope that life would miraculously return to normal.  But "D-day" is real. Things will change on Monday.

We woke up to the last weekend of confinement to a grey, cloud-covered sky. The wind blew in a cold front last night, but I finished the painting before

Réouverture 11 mai!!!

bedtime so that I'd be finished with my project. I wanted to be free in the morning to go out with my partner and see how the village was preparing for next week's liberation. It didn't disappoint us. There were more people on the street than we'd seen since the lock-down began.  Most people wore masks. Everyone was careful to leave plenty of space for those they passed. It was lovely to see signs in windows that announced "Re-Opening May 11th!" I know the shop-keepers really need our business. We will do our best to spend the money we haven't spent on cafes. After all the workouts at our house, I plan on getting a second exercise mat so that Y doesn't keep stealing mine when he works out and not putting it back where I expect it to be. And besides, it would be nice to each have a good mat for yoga instead of one of us working from the rug. I think he is going to buy an electric bike in hopes that by mid-summer we can take our surfing gear to the beach again. It's a lovely dream. Don't wake us up.

The clouds didn't matter. Neighbors and friends were out and about. It was nice to say hello, even from a distance of 6 feet. Some businesses have figured out how to do take away on the street. Arnaud, who runs an upmarket gourmet coffee shop with sweet baked treats to die-for, whole coffee beans and high-end loose-leaf teas for sale, has realized he can do some business without opening the cafe. He's started doing take away dinners. Last week was Couscous and this week it's Tanjine. Y said the Couscous was great. I can't say since it wasn't vegetarian fare but I know how good the muffins always have been, so I'm not surprised that Arnaud can make a jamming dinner. Today he had take-away coffee for sale and if I wasn't being careful about the confinement calorie intake, there were his special shortbread cookies. Like everyone, we are moving less at the moment, so I will wait until next week to indulge in sweets!

We bought espressos and wandered down to the bakery for bread. Y's brother and sister-in-law were on their way home and so we finally got to see them and say hi. In the days and months

No beaches for a while.

"Before the Virus" we met them every Saturday in the cafe. We haven't really seen them since they live outside the kilometer limit. But today they were on business for next week's reopening and so were in the village. It was really nice to have this tiny sliver of normality return though, of course, we stood 6 feet apart and made hand signals of hearts and kisses to represent the "bisous" (those air kisses we usually exchange in France with the ones we like.) We couldn't talk for more than a few minutes today. It was only an anticipation of what is to come. Today we carried our "attestations" stating the time we'd left our houses and had to return within an hour. We stayed inside our limits. 

But soon it will be "D-day" and that's only a day and a night away as I write this to you.

Will my car look like that when I go
to get it in the parking lot after all this time?

Ironically, it may rain. The weather report today threatened us with that. We won't care. Being allowed to go out of the house without a time and distance limit will feel like freedom. We have our plan, as I'm sure everyone does. It won't be a trip to the beach - because just like the restaurants, cafes, and cinemas, it will still be closed. It won't be into the city of Perpignan. That can wait. We take my car and go to my house to open the windows (even if it's raining!) and to check on my neighbors.  I can hardly wait to see my village. I may even shed tears - but they will be happy ones.

We are full of anticipation. And while it may not be as good as we'd imagined the day of liberation would be, my real hope is that the aftermath - the second wave - will not be as bad as worry it will be. We're going to take it slow. We're going to keep to the rules and do our very best to avoid adding to the load on the

We won't be at the cafe for a while yet - but we have a dream!

health care systems. Here's to the words that they've mentioned a lot on TV lately, "Une nation libre" - a free nation. And I'm looking forward and wishing we will once again have "Un monde libre" - a free world.  Now there's something to anticipate. And while it may not be perfect or like it was for a long time to come, it's worth working to make it happen - Together.

À demain les amis! (Until tomorrow friends!)
Link to Day 55 the last day of confinement!