My feet in Dieppe on my first birthday in France (the rest of me is there, too)
Happy midterm elections, USA!
Ahem. Yeah. Doesn’t the world feel in such a sorry state these days?
You’ll forgive me if I’m focused more on the personal than the political today. Because…it’s BIRTHDAY TIME! Woot!
If I look a little dazed here, it’s because I am. I’d only been in France for a month and a half at this point. Ah, so many years ahead of you, sweetcake! A lot is going to happen.
I received a package from my mom last week with 3 wrapped presents and tried waiting to open them until today. (I’m like an impatient kid in this respect and could only last until the weekend before succumbing to my curiosity and peeking early).
Besides the thrill of gifts (thank you, mom!), this marks a triumph, too. It was the first package that has arrived safely from my mom IN YEARS.
Dipping way back in the archives, I once declared La Poste my number one nemesis. So many packages had gone missing (and I heard from a chorus of readers who experienced the same thing), that it seemed someone was sneaking away with the goods. And so I sacrificed the comfort of care packages from home forever (sniff!)
A 2014 portrait by Richard Beban.
My mom would heroically try again from time to time to no avail, but this time, holy miracle! It arrived. Let’s take this as a great sign for the year ahead.
I thought to do a little pampering for my birthday (France has taught me the value of self-care), but part of what I wanted was not to get bogged down planning anything.
So oops! Couldn’t get an appointment today for my little treats. That’s ok: I now have a salon appointment on Friday for a hair cut and a massage on Saturday. I’m more than happy to stretch the birthday out all week.
I’ll be seeing my beau soon, then have a little fete with my writing workshop tomorrow.
With any luck, I might even run into some colorful festivity such as this forró flashmob in Paris.
A simple celebration and I couldn’t be happier.
(Oh, actually I could! I love receiving your comments. Thank you for reading – it’s the best gift ever).
Update: wow, package from my dad just now arrived, too. 3 delivered packages from the post in a week? Amazing!
paris (im)perfect 
Bon anniversaire, Sion. We Scorpios know the value of looking out for ourselves, so have an adventurous year and many more to come.
For me (my birthday is Toussaint), the celebration involved a passion-fruit soufflé with Joyeux Anniversaire spelled out in chocolate, the gift of complete freedom for the weekend to do exactly what I wanted, and the reward of having wonderful friends. I wish the same for you.
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Meredith, that sounds like a wonderful birthday! Yes! That is exactly how I like to celebrate, too. (And I do feel such a kinship with fellow Scorpios…the title of this post was originally “Scorpio Season” 😉 )
Thanks so much for your well wishes. I’m looking forward to a great year ahead.
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Lovely Article and a very happy Birthday to you…. Its been a long journey and I’m happy to have known you all the way through. xxxx
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Jodie, you have been my savior these many, many years! I am so grateful to have known you every step of the way in my Paris journey! Thank you, sweetie!
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! You deserve an extended birthday. Enjoy the week!!!
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Thanks so much, Buffy!
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Bon anniversaire Sion! I was thinking of you earlier today — I was preparing lunch — and I was wondering how you were doing. And now I know.
When I found out that they had made a mistake on my birth certificate — I was born just after midnight — I took to celebrating my birthday on both dates. When I got older and I realized that people were willing to indulge in my week-long birthday festivities, I celebrate for 7 days. So, go right ahead and stretch the merriment for as long as you can.
All the best!
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Oh, thanks so much, Tanya! I’ve been wondering how you’re doing, too! What a great story about your birthday. Heck, yeah! Born just after midnight totally counts as 2 official birth days and of course…celebrate as long as possible! So great. 7 days sounds about right 🙂
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Happy birthday! Joyeux anniversaire! Huzzah for the packages arriving! A good sign indeed.
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Thanks, Tracy! Given my previous trials with La Poste, yes, I am taking it as a good omen! 😉
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Joyeux anniversaire, Sion! Reading your post reminded me that one month from now is my birthday and guess where I was planning to spend it? (Je te donne en mille) Dieppe! At the spa at Le Carré…massage, hammam, sauna…Enjoy your birthday week!
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Oh wow! Same wavelength. I was planning on the hammam and sauna, too. Massage already booked! Have a great time in Dieppe! Sounds like the perfect birthday celebration.
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Très bon anniversaire! Cette photo (de Richard Beban) est ravissante!
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Thank you! Yes, the photographer is the husband of one of my writing friends. So many new talented people in my life!
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Happy Birthday!
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Thank you, Linda!
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Happy Birthday Sion!
I found your blog a few weeks ago and spent several happy hours enjoying your posts. I’m glad I have this chance to send you many good wishes and heartfelt thanks.
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Ana, thank you so much! It makes me so happy to hear you’ve spent several happy hours reading through old posts! I’d love to know which ones resonated with you most. It is truly a pleasure to connect with people through words so thank YOU for reading and for your kind message. It’s a gift!
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Happy Birthday from a fellow Scorpio! Birthday packages are the best. Hope you liked what you received. Sometimes mail from the States gets to me really fast (even 2 days), and other times… not. One time I received a package from my mom months after she sent it. The weird thing is that it was in perfect condition. It didn’t look like it had made a lot of detours, which made me wonder if it had just been sitting at the bottom of a mail cart somewhere.
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Oh my goodness! I love fellow Scorpios! Happy birthday season to you, too! Yeah, La Poste. Un mystere!
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