After Pat and Magic Fingers left the girls and I at this strange house, we simply just stood there. There was no food, no electricity, and no idea. Before they left, Pat told me they wanted me to babysit this little French girl and I just about fell over in panic with that idea. She was a 2 year old . I could speak not a single word of French, was in unfamiliar territory, and how on earth would I tend to this child not even knowing what her disposition was like so that answer was one big NO! And there was absolutely no way that I was going to miss out on their first gig in France! But then the problem of a babysitter for our girls arose and my hopes of seeing them play were but a glimmer in my eye now. We had no one to watch our kids.
I was really, really tired. My girls were tired and cranky and we were all hungry. There wasn't any food there so I had to dig through what was left of our snacks from the plane ride and we sat and snacked. I cannot even remember what time it was but then again, didn't pay too much attention to that minor detail. Just knew that the time change was really affecting me.
That day in the house, I felt so lost. I barely got to even say hello to Pat and he was gone again, the girls were really disorientated as was I and the thought that we were really on our own was sinking in. It was a time that I had dreamed of, a time that Pat and I desparately needed to break away from the clutches of our families and all the hell that we had endured over the previous year. A very fresh start.
For those who have experienced jet lag, it is an overwhelming thing on the body. For myself, the thought of having to tend to my two girls just about made me cry. I just wanted to collapse on that mattress and sleep but couldn't. They were really wound up. They had an opportunity to catch some sleep on the plane. I was simply too knotted up in the stomach to sleep on the plane.
I sat and colored with them for awhile, tried to find ways in which to keep them occupied. There was no television or VCR, no music, nothing. And there was not a soul around to talk to. I couldn't get to any of their toys because they were in those huge boxes but the boxes were stacked in the garage not to mention I just didn't have the energy.
Finally, I was able to convince the girls to lay on the mattress with me. That in itself was hard to do because they were just toddlers after all and with no television to watch...Us adults can appreciate the luxury of lying down and relaxing but certainly not toddlers. I dug through the carry-on bags and found some books. Thanks goodness. The three of us laid there and I read them book after book.
I don't know when it happened, how it happened but the next thing I know, I wake to people pounding on the door. Two people, a man and a woman and it was dark out so all I could see was their silouhettes. And they didn't speak English as they spoke to eachother but they knew my name. There were no lights to turn on so I couldn't put a little light on the subject. I jumped up half asleep, scared once again not knowing what the heck was going on.
They began to tell me in English what they were there for. They were there to pick us up. And they were going to take care of our girls so that I could attend Pat's show. Their names were LouAnn and Colliere. They came from the home that I had been hearing all about, L 'Ermitage. They were in a hurry, I couldn't brush my hair, nothing. I simply had to get the kids ready, myself ready and we were out the door. Once again I was unsure of what in the heck was going on but went along with it in my groggy state.
They took us down winding roads, woods everywhere, and we came to the destination. L 'Ermitage. But there was simply no time for me to even grasp what I was looking at, barely even a memory of my first impression of this very incredible 'hunting lodge'. I was introduced to a few people at the house, and the little girl that my girls would be playing with. Nej and Milesonde. Both of them were just beautiful. And smiles from ear to ear.
I got a look at the two people who came to pick us up and they gave me hugs and upon looking at their faces, they were so welcoming and warm. And I could see that they knew that I was really confused and scared. I was grateful that they could speak English and that the girl who would be watching my kids spoke English as well. Of course it was broken and with a thick accent but it was more than I could offer to their little one.
A couple of other people appeared in the room, ones who were actually from America and a rush of relief washed over me. We got on really well. The man was the drummers brother and the woman was the drummers girlfriend. They would be driving us to the bar that the band would be playing at. They were able to better explain things not only to me but they were able to translate to the French people what my girls needed, food, diapers, bed time etc. Once they explained that these people were friends and that they were wonderful people, I was beginning to let my nerves settle.
It was time to leave. Now remember all the cars there are minis. Boy, us Americans really have a lot of luxuries that we take for granted. Roomy cars is most definately one of them. We piled into two different cars and off we went. It was snowing out. I felt like I was still in Minnesota as the weather was so familiar with the snow and all but warmer so the snow melted almost before it hit the ground. The people in the car were razzing me telling me I brought the weather with me because snow is a rare occurance in that part of France.
Being that it was night, I can't say much about the sites but can say that I was holding onto that door with white knuckles. This guy drove like a total Frenchman......
No comments:
Post a Comment