All Together Again

 Last Monday Benjin was still back in the US, and I was trying to hang on at home. The boys were both sick, so Gideon stayed home from school, and I tried to find ways to keep us from going stir-crazy. The highlight of the day was me giving the boys haircuts and then they had a little party in the bath. You know it’s a rough day when haircuts are the highlight!

Because the boys were both sick, they didn’t sleep well and by Tuesday morning I was losing it! I had no idea how I was going to make it to Thursday afternoon when Benjin would get back. But we got up and went through the motions of going to school, making food, reading books, etc. and eventually we somehow made it to bedtime.

On Wednesday it was adventure day! We went on a little exploration walk downtown starting at the beautiful and unique Madeline (Catholic church). Part of what was fun about this day’s adventure was the fact that we were meandering. Meandering is a perfect Paris activity, but something that is often a struggle with kids. Usually, I am just trying to get us from point A to point B as quickly as possible before the screaming starts. But on this trip, I taught the boys about what a “detour” means. At the outset, I promised them that we were making our way to a playground, but we took a detour to window shop at an old clock shop and a detour to check out the original Laudurée shop where the famous French Macarons were invented. We took a detour to a small perfume museum where, I was too nervous to take the boys in the actual museum part/couldn’t figure out how to get the stroller up the stairs, but we walked around the shop and Gideon LOVED sampling the different smells. In the end we both picked our favorites to put a spritz on our wrists. The rest of the day when things started to go awry, I would say, “Hey! Should we check if we can still smell our perfumes?” We would sniff each other’s wrists and all of a sudden things would look a little brighter.

From there we detoured through a French arcade. Gideon was enthralled by the fact that there was an “inside street!” (as well as by the delicious croissant he and Pierce were snarfing.) And finally, we meandered our way to the Nelson Mandella park at Les Halles where we had a picnic at the playground. 

Thursday, the highlight was, of course, Benjin coming home. He came home while Gideon was still at school. So, Benjin went and picked him up from school and then Pierce and I met up with them at the park. As Pierce and I were crossing the street to get to the park we saw Benjin on the scooter and Gideon on his bike riding over to meet us. It was just a magic moment to finally have all 4 of us back together. The weather was perfect so we walked/biked/scootered/strollered over to the playground near the lake and played/attempted the zipline.

On Saturday we celebrated Benjin’s birthday with Gideon and Pierce’s special at-home restaurant for breakfast. followed by a trip to Decathalon to buy a helmet and bike seat for Pierce. As often happens with life, things took longer than expected, but eventually, Benjin and I got some city bikes and the 4 of us went biking through the woods of the Bois. Again, it was magical! The fall leaves were crunching under our wheels and Gideon was cruising like “lightning McQueen.” After our initial test run in the Bois and a nap for the boys, we rode the metro downtown for some next level bike maneuvering. We started at the Hotel de Ville and then went down next to the river and rode along the Seine. We rode from there to Concorde, weaving through masses of people, braving a long dark tunnel and even getting some elevation gain. All the while, Gideon’s legs were pedaling, pedaling and the Eiffel tower was standing off to the left encouraging us on. Gideon repeatedly mentioned, “mommy, do you see my legs?! It’s a good thing they are so strong!” We made our way home and I finished decorating Benjin’s birthday cake (a cheese board in honor of our French adventure as well as the fact that since being here we have gotten into trying various cheeses). We determined that cake is a pretty great cheese flavor as it turns out!

Anyway, throughout this week I have been thinking about the guidance offered by President Russel M. Nelson in last week’s General Conference. He told us to, “think celestial.” I am still working on figuring out how to THINK celestial. But, this week there have been both moments that felt ANYTHING BUT celestial as well as moments that felt ABSOLUTLY celestial. In comparing those two, I have learned that having my family ALL together makes a difference! I have learned that detours are much more bearable with the end in mind. I have learned that it helps to take a minute to watch our little legs pedal and express gratitude for the grand places they are taking us!  

Keep pedaling.

Love La Famille Facer