Sing the bells of Notre Dame

I feel like I have written some about the wonderful tastes, smells, and sights, but I don’t know that I have really described the sound of living in Europe. For me, church bells are a huge part of that sound. Their deep, persistent bongs provide the background music of my walks to and from Gideon’s school, folding laundry or cooking dinner. The ringing of church bells is interesting. On the one hand, it is rather melancholy and sad and yet on the other, there is something about those bongs that is also pleasing, peaceful and grounding.

This year I am trying to view winter in the same way that I think about the chiming of bells. It may not be a sound that makes us want to get up and dance, but it can still offer something wholesome and rewarding. We got our first “real” snow this past week. By real, I mean a faint dusting on the grass and cars, but nothing on the roads. Pierce and I loved walking through the bois in the magical frosty world. Like the church bells it was somewhat somber and ghostly, but also quiet and soul filling. Pierce found it oddly satisfying to scrape the snow off every surface he could find and thanks to straightjacket-esque gloves and and a stroller sleeping bag we were able to make it to and from the grocery store with only minimal screaming because of the cold. 

On Wednesday we used our “adventure day” to library hop. We started by finally trying out the Ludothèque...If you don’t know what a Ludothèque is, believe me, you are not alone, but I am taking this moment to launch my campaign to start the Ludothèques For All movement!! They are fantastic!! They are game/toy libraries. You can go there to borrow games or to just spend the afternoon playing. They have toys/games for every age group and one of the few rules they have is “no cell phones,” because they say that this is your time to be 100% focused on playing with your child. We had a BLAST. We went grocery shopping for plastic food at the make-believe Marche and then took it over to the toy kitchen to cook it up. We played with trains, did puzzles, dressed up like chevaliers and built with blocks. The boys were in absolute heaven. After the ludothèque, we took a quick library break for lunch, but then headed off to the book-version --- the “bibliothèque.” We snuggled up on the couches and read books… we even found a couple in ENGLISH!! We miraculously managed to keep Pierce from being too destructive and eventually walked home with our linen sac stuffed full of books. We came home to a fun surprise --- a box from our dear neighbors in Columbus who had sent us all the best American treats we could hope for (especially restocking our previously dwindling mac and cheese stash).

Thursday night Benjin watched the boys and I got to sneak out for some quality “flâneur” time. I ended up wandering around the Pompidou center where I was drawn into an old church building by some haunting organ music. I sat in the church with just my thoughts and the music until someone came by to tell me they were locking up. During this phase of life it amazes me how rare it is to have quiet time to just sit and think. It felt like such a luxurious treat. I braced myself to venture back out into the bitter cold and rode the somber subway home observing all the other riders with their scarfs up to their noses.

On Friday we poked around the NBA fest and Pierce attempted to point out every single “ball” in the joint. Saturday we went to the small Marie Curie Museum at the Marie Currie institute. We got to see her old office and lab as well as learn about the incredible discoveries she made. It was especially impactful because of how her work directly paved the way for the work in radiation oncology that Benjin now participates in. It was inspiring to think about the many scientific giants that Benjin stands on the shoulders of. Pierce was a bit of a maniac in the museum, but Gideon really enjoyed seeing the different old tools and learning about what it means to be a scientist. On the way home we stopped by a Santon shop. Santons are small figurines used to depict nativity scenes. Unlike typical nativity scenes however, these include the everyday French people such as the butcher, baker, fish seller, etc. We successfully made it in and out of the shop without breaking anything --- WIN! And have plans to go pack to purchase our souvenir French creche!  

Sunday, halfway through church I was feeling freezing. Just then I heard the bishop apologize for the broken heater. I looked around and saw everyone else in the room had their full winter coats on! I thought they might cancel the 2^nd hour, but they didn’t. We all just bundled up and kept right on learning and sharing. It was inspiring to witness the faith of the Nogent ward (many of whom originate from balmy places like Guadeloupe, Tahiti, Venezuela, etc.)

Lastly, on Monday while walking home after dropping off Gideon, Pierce discovered his shadow for the first time. This mostly provides an indication of how gray it has been the past few months. It is hard to learn what a shadow is if you never see the sun!! But, the gray skies helped us have a much greater appreciation for the sunlight! It was adorable to see him dancing and chasing his shadow as we enjoyed the frosty, but SUNNY walk home. 

This week was not one of our flashiest weeks – just like winter is not Paris’ flashiest time of year and church bells are not as flashy as Taylor Swift -- but I am trying to learn to appreciate winter for what it is.... a time to slow down, bundle up, learn to cook root vegetables, enjoy libraries, observe our frosty breath, commiserate with other freezing parents waiting to pick up their kids and, if need be, drown your sorrows in melted cheese! 

Lots of wintery love, 

La famille Facer