Spring is here, in the literal sense, and I’m making mine by letting it happen. You may be asking, “Do we have a choice?” Yes, we do.

This isn’t an article about how positive thinking beckons positive evolution. This is nonetheless one of my strongly-held tenets, and surely the most appropriate one at this point in my life where I feel for the first time in 15 years that my spouse and I are beginning a new chapter to the life we’re building together.

♪ On a Positive Note ♪

Consider that the draft of my first ever Substack article was entitled Why Our Popular Restaurant Went Bust. ‘Draft’ is the operative word here — that article is being held back for now. It would have been appropriately eye-grabbing, but I ultimately chose to evoke springtime, rather than introduce myself to you by telling a story that could be construed as bemoaning our current situation.

That first draft is still appropriately titled and will be published at the right time. So what you’re reading now is officially my first article. I had committed to myself to publishing it on 1 April, but I didn’t quite make it. BUT, I did manage to get the About page published yesterday before the clock struck midnight. Some would say, “Fake it till you make it”, but I say, “Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good enough”.

French Sneaking In

You may have noticed a bit of the French language sneaking into my writing, whether through a strange turn of phrase, an English word of French origin — or perhaps even an outright unfamiliar French word that most accurately encapsulates the meaning I’m trying to convey. In the latter case, I tend to use italics in recognition of my failure to find an English equivalent. If my failure extends to not making the meaning clear through context, please just look up the word or roll with it.

My short profile bio dispels any mystery. I was born and bred in California, in the South Bay to be precise. I’ve lived in Europe since 1989, with most of my time ever since having been spent in France.

My spouse and I have called the French Pyrenees mountains home since June 2011. And whilst the upheaval we’re currently living might well have triggered a desire to make the next big geographical move, we’re staying put. This time, change is not about where, but how. This leads me to another tenet that is slightly adapted from the usual version: The grass is (NOT) always greener on the other side of the fence.

With that said, as I write this, I completely understand the record numbers of people who view life as greener on the other side of the pond. I’ll let you discern through my articles the extent to which I agree. I enjoy leaving baguette crumbs.

The Ingredients of Spring

Early this morning as I dreamed within a dream, I was awakened by one of those phone calls that give you barely a moment to throw some clothes on and rush out the door without brushing your teeth. And up to the moment when I settled into writing this text, throughout the day I felt like a switchboard operator trying to coordinate the communication between the multitude of various actors who nonetheless have so much sway over the outcome of our chapter change. In order, here are those actors: agent immobilier (1), propriétaire, géomètre, maire, voisin (1), notaire, agent immobilier (2), huissier, conseiller financier, acheteur, associé — and my mari ! And of course because few of them could take a definitive position before sometime next week, peace of mind is unlikely to be what characterises my weekend.

Something to latch onto: at least my mari’s perspective, opinion and choice words are unambiguous. I can work with what’s clear.

Let’s see if the tartine I produce next week from these ingredients is palatable. That’s a nod to the wife of the Franco-German couple who owned and operated the restaurant where I worked in Saratoga, California, before moving to France. She would say, “La vie est une tartine de merde, et tous les jours j’en mange un petit morceau”. Well, to each his or her own tenets. I don’t believe she was a fundamentally negative person. I think her words were more about dishing up some harsh reality to us youngsters.

Please stick with me and taste my tartine.