Thursday 5 October 2017

Vulnerable

'But you are in France, Madame' in store and online at French Cargo in Sydney

Rosemary Puddy produces and presents The Book Podcast Talking With Australian Women Writers. It was my turn this morning to be interviewed and I'll be sure to let you know when our discussion has aired.

It was fun, although when I'm listening to myself there is every chance that I will be physically or figuratively cringing. I suspect I rambled a bit, and Rosemary's attentive listening encouraged me to talk, and then talk some more. We finished up, but once the microphones were off, more stories came out, including the rawness of living for much of the time in France as a single parent.

A couple of months into our year-long (or 4...) adventure, my husband headed back to Australia. It wasn't supposed to be like that and I remember clearly the solitary drive back from dropping him at the airport. Stopping for fuel, a wave of vulnerability engulfed me. What if I put the wrong fuel in the car? What if my credit card wasn't accepted? What if my French wasn't as good as it needed to be? What if I got lost, or one of the children got sick, or if the heating stopped working, or the car broke down or...

I had no friends, no family, no work or work colleagues, no routines and no 'normal'. I did have three young, dependent children who were counting on me to be all the things that an adult is expected to be. Looking back now, how do I judge myself? Even though on paper, the words foolish and irresponsible come to mind, I will refute this every time. I am proud of our tenacity and our just-keep-going spirit, our sense of adventure and determinedness to take the road less obvious, and am thankful that our children have discovered the joy of thinking differently.

PS If you would like to read more of our family story here is the Amazon link for a Kindle copy.
If you would prefer a print copy, an Affiliate link is to be found in Kristin Espinasse's French word-a-day blog. A purchase here costs no more and would be so very much appreciated by us both.






6 comments:

  1. There's nothing like knowing our kids depend on us to force us to surmount challenges!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True, although, honestly, I wasn't always my cool, calm self!

      Delete
  2. Those podcasts can be fun. I just did one as well. I don't like hearing myself though as I know I ramble. I also tend to grin too much. What's with that? Bravo to you for staying in France on your own with the children. I am in awe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think I was grinning, but talking too much - probably!

      Delete
  3. Catherine, I was touched by the questions you asked yourself after dropping off your husband at the airport and facing the immediate future on your own--with three children!

    Speaking of thoughtful, thank you very much for the link to my site and for your support. It is much appreciated!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely to hear from you Kristin! A girlfriend bought me a copy of your 'Words in a French Life' in the years that we were planning our own French adventure. It is crazy to think that that was so long ago and reflect on all the water under the bridge since.

    ReplyDelete