My daughter and I had a recent, completely unexpected opportunity to help a friend with a photography workshop in Paris, France. My daughter would model, I would help in the background while doing research for a current book, and we would get to see all things French.
Here are a few things I learned:
When you lose your cellphone just as you are about to board a plane for Paris with two children, stay calm. Instead of responding as I desired (scream, cry, panic) I smiled at my daughter and put her in charge of the baby. Then I ran — through the airport, to bathroom stalls, to Delta gate ticketing agents. At last, an angel of a restaurant customer suggested we call the cellphone, and voila! (Reunited and it feels so good …) When in doubt, be calm, smile and act like all is going according to plan.
Take a baby in a stroller. Though some doubted my wisdom in taking a 1-year-old overseas (myself included), who knew that it would prove to be so helpful? Apparently French people love babies, or at least loved ours. We received incredibly friendly treatment the entire trip — from priority status on airlines to skipping the football field-long line at the Louvre — simply from toting our sweet Chubba. Clearly, being a mom has major perks.
Eat the baguettes with butter. I did not diet, accomplish goals or regularly exercise while in Paris. Instead, I ate, slept and enjoyed the experience, completely present. Some women I met ate less than 1,000 calories a day and survived on Diet Coke. But eating the French way, I only gained one pound (surely from the altitude change), which confirmed to me that life is to be wisely and deliciously lived, here or abroad.
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Enjoy,
Connie
