He's Home! (and a Few Other Things)

David is home, safe and sound. Well, he's at school, actually, but you know what I mean. We are very happy to have him back with us!

I picked him up at the airport yesterday, and we went through his photos - about 400 of them - TWICE. This guy has the photo bug, and I think he has a good eye for capturing interesting images, even with a camera that has its limitations. I wonder what he will do with a more advanced camera in his hands? [He has given me permission to post some of his images, but I have so much rattling around in my head today that I am going to have to do it in stages. Above is one that he took of the Eiffel Tower, at night.]

This is a photo of David with his host family, the Malapels. They gave him wonderful Provencal hospitality, and included him in their family life for a week. He went to school with their daughter at the College Pierre Girardot in the village.

Today, I am working on my piece for Hopeful Parents (due on the 10th), washing David's clothes & ironing a big pile of other things. I've exercised and had massage therapy (and it is therapy)! I'm going to get cleaned up and work on some correspondence.

But first, a few notes:

MOVIE REVIEW: Have you ever read Tristan and Isolde? You know, the medieval legend? We read it when I was in school. It's also an opera, and there is a movie version of the story (not a musical). We rented the movie, and it was so interesting that I have to tell you a few things about it. One: it's very, very bloody, which I don't like. Two: it's beautifully acted (and filmed). Three: seeing it as a woman in her late 40s is completely different than reading it as a young woman in school. I identified/sympathised with a different character this time, and had very different reactions than I recall having, way back when. If you have seen it, or do see it, I'd love to hear what you thought.

BOOK REVIEW: One of my favorite people from Seattle Children's Hospital, a chaplain named Karen, recommended a book to me called, "comfort," by Ann Hood. At first, I wasn't really eager to read it, as it is all too familiar to me: a true story, told by a mother of two children (an older son and a younger daughter - best friends) about how her daughter became ill and died, and how the family learned to live without their beloved sister/daughter. But I will tell you, it is a wonderful book in its honesty, simplicity, and from my perspective, reality. I understood a great deal of what Ms. Hood wrote, because I have experienced it. So thank you for the recommendation, Karen, because - though some of it was painful- it was well worth reading.

Here are a few more photos from David's trip. This shows part of the group, on their visit to the Palace of Versailles, outside of Paris.

And here is some of the same group, after they spontaneously decided to go for a night swim in the Mediterranean Sea (they were staying in Beaulieu-sur-Mer). FUN!

This is one of my favorites, taken during a night cruise in a boat on the Seine.

Welcome Home, David!