Stuff v. Souvenirs

 

Buying souvenirs always stresses me out. I want to find something to commemorate the trip, but I hate filling my house with junk that we don't need/won't use/don't have a place for. BUT, I LOVE the word souvenir! Did you know it's a French word? In French "souvenir" means "memory" or "to remember." 

As our time in Paris draws to a close, I spent most of this week sorting through our stuff, figuring out who to donate things to and what to pack. I have worked hard to whittle down to the essentials so that we can fit everything into our airline allotted suitcases. Even with Air Maroc giving us 2 free checked bags a piece, it's been tough! 

In addition to sorting through clothes and toys, we have done a lot of lasts this week. We did our last play date meet up at the Ludotheque with Gideon's dear friend and his mom. We did our last bike/scooter ride in the bois before we passed the bike on to a friend in the ward. We hosted our last guests (the Draper family), fed them our last cheese board and took them to the Chateau Vincennes for our final visit. We took our last trip to Jardin des plants and had our last "adventure day" where we enjoyed the Jardin Nelson Mandela, explored Eglise Saint-Eustache and played hide and seek at the Palais Royal. We did our last shopping trip to Decathalon and lugged our last set of groceries home from Carrefore. We rode the bus to church for the last time, bore testimony in French and hugged all of the people who have come to mean so much to us. 

We also did a couple of firsts. We rode a "bateau mouche boat" down the Seine, finally made it to les Invalides, and tasted our first black (and I mean black) baguette (infused with activated charcoal!) Yum! 

Amongst all of these firsts and lasts, here are two memories I want to share. First, I took the boys to one last art museum (Petit Palais).  On the Metro ride there Gideon helped me come up with a list of things to look for at the museum (ie: 3 loaves of bread, 5 animals, 2 vehicles, etc.) Then when we got there Gideon was very invested in playing eye-spy for the things on our list. While hunting for our self-proscribed items, the art we were looking at inspired a number of really meaningful discussions. One modern military statue next to another statue of a farmer picking wheat, inspired a discussion of who we should celebrate (through art) kings or normal people. It was so cool to watch Gideon's mind churn and consider the tough topic. Another painting of a sad refugee family inspired us to talk about how it would feel to not have a home. I just love how art can inspire us to elevate our communication. I have learned that kids can talk about deep things and even provide profound insights. After our lovely art appreciation, it was time to let Pierce run wild for a bit, so we went to the gorgeous courtyard to let him get his wiggles out and have a snack. From there we had planned to go to the Bastille metro stop and play at a boat playground on our way home. Unfortunately it started to rain as we got on the metro and by the time we got off it was pouring. I considered just going home, but Gideon assured me that this playground had a place under the boat where we could sit and eat our lunch out of the rain. We raced off the metro and down to the park. Sure enough, Gideon was right. There was a nice little spot that was out of the rain, unfortunately it was currently occupied by a homeless man who was also trying to stay dry. Well, we decided there was enough room for all of us in there and made our way under the play set to escape the downpour. After a brief discussion, the gentleman decided he would leave and I felt guilty for stealing his dry refuge!! But eventually the clouds parted and the rain stopped and they boys enjoyed playing pirates as well as going for a walk to look at the real boats parked along the neighboring canal. 

The second experience I wanted to share is that on Saturday we woke up really early and got dressed to go take family photos with a ward friend by the Eiffel tower. The boys were champs (in large part because we had bribed them with patisseries when we were all done.) As a result, Pierce just kept saying "Croissank!" the whole time. True to our word, in the end, everyone got to pick their boulangerie treat. We walked over to the playground in the shadow of the Eiffel tower to eat them. From there we went to the PSG stadium to take a tour. It was really cool. The boys loved seeing all the soccer stuff, getting to kick a ball on the field and getting to pretend like they were giving a press conference. I mostly just loved feeling right at home amongst all the other boy moms (it was seriously only families of boys there!) Being a boy mom is just the best! 

Anyway, Our last evening we enjoyed a delicious Algerian meal outside (practically in the middle of an intersection. The boys loved waving at all the cars as they drove by.) Then we rode the metro for the last time and watched the boys be their usual crazy goofball-selves. We walked over to Place des Vogues and enjoyed some delicious gelato in one of the most charming squares in the world. Then we wandered down to the Seine to catch one last glimpse of Notre Dame. It was magical. 

 Then, unfortunately, reality hit. We realized that the airline had not only changed our flight (earlier by 4 hours) but also changed the airport we would be flying out of. We had to hurry home to finish packing and scramble to figure out how to get all of our stuff and ourselves to the other airport at the new time. It was a little crazy, but Benjin and I still managed to enjoy one final cup of warm boxed milk which we enjoyed on our beautiful Parisian balcony. 

I hope I remember all of these memories. Both the ups (like drinking warm milk on our dreamy balcony) and the downs (like evicting a kind homeless man from his rain refuge) because all of these memories add to the adventure that was our year in France. 

Among our luggage, the Facer Family will be coming home with a mountain of souvenirs. Not berets or macaroon key chains, but in true french form: mountains of memories. I have come to realize that the most meaningful souvenirs I am returning home with are the three incredible people I will be flying home with. Because of our time in France, I have seen Gideon, Pierce and Benjin change and I LOVE who they have become. They are my greatest souvenirs. I hope I always remember watching Gideon grow in bravery as he walked through the school gates day after day after day. I hope to remember how Pierce's friendly nature blossomed waving at everyone on the metro and resorting to pulling on their pants legs if they didn't acknowledge him. I love remembering how Benjin learned to really expand his sense of taste and excitedly critique his experiences with frog legs, fois gras and various fromage. I am coming home with two little boys who have learned independence as they have mastered the metro and explored confidently on their trotinettes (scooters). I will come home with a husband who has broader understanding of medicine but a more defined understanding of how he enjoys participating in it. I am coming home with a family who has increased faith that the Lord can help us do hard things and deeper empathy for those who feel lonely, awkward or like an outsider. We have seen beautiful things, been inspired by incredible history and of course met extraordinary individuals. 

With bags full of stuff and hearts full of love and gratitude, 

La Famille Facer. 

Bisous!!