How could I ever have left him? Or is it her? Actually I always think of Sainte Cecile as feminine, I suppose Cecile is. And as for selling up…..what a stupid, mad, cruel and short-termist notion.
I can’t tell you how nice it is to be home. There is something deeply satisfying about it. I feel grounded, happy, content, like donning an apron and making fresh pasta.
The children are like, well, kids in a sweet shop. They are exstatic. Around every corner is a toy they missed or a tree they climbed. Every few minutes they tell me how happy they are to be home. Irritated as they are by the mess left after all the summer rentals. Bea is most idignant over her trampoline. The cover has been broken. Olivia suggets we make the tenants pay for it and then we will be rich enough to stay here for ever.
It’s a nice thought, but actually I am not unhappy with our two homes. If we can keep things ticking along. In seven years there will be no mortgage to pay here and we can look forward to watching our grandchildren play on the swings just as our children have done.
As Rupert says; Sainte Cecile is part of us. Selling it would really be the maddest thing to do and I am sure we would regret it for ever. I have fallen head over heels in love again, and not just with all my shoes (although the reunion has been extremely emotional) but just with HOME. The slight bend in the road before you get to the house, the roaring fire, Max (who is looking great, fatter and younger than when we left), the Olive trees in the garden, the sound of the source. All that’s missing is my dog. He moved in with Madame Fontenon up the road. Maybe today he will pay us a visit and complete the perfect homecoming.
Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2008
What a lovely post – I can just picture your family enjoying Sainte Cecile. Have a wonderful holiday!
Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians and most definitely a girl! She was a virgin and a martyr as well and is celebrated much in the Trastevere part of Rome. She is said to have praised God by singing to him. I knew you would come to your senses once you met her again!
You sound like the old Helena…oh dear I said the O word, sorry!…like the before-moving-to the-desert Helena. I love seeing you happy again!
Happy Holidays…and please post a picture of those shoes! I am forced to wear snow boots for three more months…
Ah, Helena, so good to see you happy again! Nothing like a homecoming to bring you back up out of the doldrums. I’d love a picture of you with the shoes too! mimi
Hello ladies
I have no camera sadly, but I can give you a run down of a few of them…LK Bennet Pink Satin six-inch heels, Fendi vintage (courtesy of aunt), UGG boots (which I am living in), Tod’s green sandals – all (bar the UGGs) will come back to Abu Dhabi with me, along with designer handbags sorely missed.
Hx
Hi H
I cannot tell you how wonderful this reading this post has been – this is so what I wanted to hear from you but I was worried you had been totally seduced by the sunshine of AD.
Sometimes you have to come back to go forward don’t you. How long will you be here ? Enjoy and have a wonderful time I am so glad you have found her again
Much love and a wonderful christmas LA xxxxx
Thank you Lead Angel, we will be here until Jan 1st. I have just seen Wolfie so my life is complete!
Hx
C’est si bon
Happy Birthday to you! I also have a December (21) birthday although I have a “few” years on you. We should write about the horrors of a late December birthday. Did you ever have an actual birthday party? I didn’t. Too close to Christmas. Then there are the combined birthday/Christmas gifts. Hope you had a good one!
I hear you Sharyn – the amount of combined presents I have had…dreadful. My mother is the only one who makes an effort for both. One of the first things I did when I decided to have children of my own was make sure they were born far away from December. Bea happened a little earlier than we expected so she is October but the others are June and July. I have often considered having an ‘official’ birthday, like the queen. In fact when I get back to Abu Dhabi I am having a spa day with girlfriends to celebrate.
Hx
I can see why you love the house, I was just looking at the house on the rental site for this summer. I am traveling to Paris and London with my four kids. I am re-reading your “All You Need to Be Impossibly French “. I just ran out and bought new underpants and bras!