January... Janvier

France beckons to me to come and visit. While I have no plans yet, I’d love to return to northern France, to visit Canadian battlefields and graveyards; small French villages and the rolling countryside; cute bistros and cafés; and rekindle the joy of ambling through, taking it all in.

And so, I’m studying French again. But from a different angle this time. I’ve subscribed to a teacher on Substack, Learn French with Maud, and she presents the language using life itself. She talks about her day, the cultural experiences she has as a person living in Switzerland. I have no idea what she does for work, but she is able to take long walks around Lake Zurich on her lunch breaks (yeah Europe!). On weekends, we accompany her as she wanders through the foothills and mountains that are within reach during afternoon walks.

Life, with European pacing.

I love these lessons. I learn all kinds of things I didn’t know and there is an intimacy to the lessons that lingers in me long after I've closed the computer.

Today’s lesson was all about the opportunities that come with winter and the turned calendar. January puts the brakes on life. With colder days, all of nature stops to rest and rebuild. If we are mindful of it, we can too. She writes:

“L’hiver est une période de retrait, de ralentissement, de conservation. Rien ne pousse, rien ne fleurit, et pourtant tout se prépare. Ce temps invisible est indispensable à ce qui viendra ensuite. / Winter is a period of withdrawal, slowing down, preservation. Nothing grows, nothing blooms, and yet everything is being prepared. This invisible time is essential to what will come next.”

So today, sick in bed with a cold, I’m giving in to slowing down, sitting with life rather than rushing through my “to do” list. Looking through some old pictures, and remembering the "me" from then, the places we went and the things we saw. Appreciating the journey to date.

And also, dreaming of my next trip to Europe.

Shots from our 2018 fall trip to Zurich. Hubby and I are much younger here!