{"id":1501,"date":"2013-05-09T22:17:59","date_gmt":"2013-05-10T03:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501"},"modified":"2013-05-10T09:53:44","modified_gmt":"2013-05-10T14:53:44","slug":"provence-etc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501","title":{"rendered":"Provence, etc."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So I have little or no good\u00a0explanation\u00a0as to why I have not blogged in a month. \u00a0I guess my only excuse is time flies when you are havin’ fun. My daughter and her brood moved out about the time I took this\u00a0hiatus. Perhaps I have been prone on the couch exhausted or luxuriating in the sweet silence of having morning tea alone for the past few weeks.<\/p>\n

Mostly, I have spent the last thirty days (more like six\u00a0months) preparing for and enjoying the trip of a lifetime. \u00a0My husband and I and our adult children plus an in-law and a girlfriend, took a ten day vacation in Provence, France\u00a0two\u00a0weeks ago.<\/p>\n

I spent months researching and planning the details of our travels from where to stay, train schedules on weekdays to which\u00a0hikes lead from which perfectly quaint\u00a0hill town to another. I checked the weekly\u00a0weather\u00a0in France, prayed for sun and listened to French for Dummies<\/em> on CD’s in my car.<\/p>\n

I scoured the stores for comfortable yet Parisian chic shoes. \u00a0(Which in the final hour I did find and\u00a0immediately\u00a0bought\u00a0in two colors. \u00a0Best packing move ever.)<\/p>\n

I researched the lightest, strongest luggage for overseas\u00a0travel, updated documents, cut my hair shorter to keep up\u00a0with\u00a0the younger ones who walk out the door with “wet head” and look adorable. \u00a0I dyed my eyelashes black, again to wake up perky and stay with the pack. \u00a0Needless to say, I put some thought into this trip. \u00a0We were celebrating my birthday with a zero at the end, my son’s 30th, our daughter’s 25th and we landed on our 38th anniversary. As though we needed even one reason to make such a trek, we had many.<\/p>\n

Since our return, I have thought and thought about how I could write about this trip. \u00a0Without sounding like a PBW.<\/p>\n

Which\u00a0brings me to my main hesitance about this entry. My brother, who is a writer and faithful supporter of my blogging, wrote this to me not long ago.<\/p>\n

“The great writers are always one of a kind.\u00a0 What’s unique about them always comes through, and that’s what makes them great ones.\u00a0\u00a0Think about it — you can recognize Poe or Fitzgerald after reading only a sentence or two.\u00a0\u00a0I think what’s unique about you in this blog, as a blog writer, is this mix of\u00a0privileged burb wife-at-the-spa (PBW) and heart.\u00a0 These inner conflicts.\u00a0 Most of\u00a0the great\u00a0ones are\u00a0expressing \u00a0their\u00a0unique inner conflicts —\u00a0 even the unique stylistic features seem to come from these conflicts.”<\/p>\n

So aside from him nearly\u00a0comparing\u00a0me to Fitzgerald ( a\u00a0stretch\u00a0but I’m running\u00a0with\u00a0it) my conflict here must seem self evident. \u00a0How do I write about this nearly perfect, ridiculously expensive trip and not sound like a\u00a0privileged\u00a0burb wife (PBW)? \u00a0And rereading his note, I figured it out. \u00a0I will tell you about it from my heart.<\/p>\n

First of all, having all my children plus their most-loved others travel happily with me anywhere was magical in itself. Now granted, calling my kids and saying, “Wanna come to\u00a0France\u00a0with me in April, all expenses paid?” was sort of a slam dunk but kids can be kids and life\u00a0throws\u00a0up roadblocks. But this time it didn’t and we got an overwhelming “woot woot” on the first group email.<\/p>\n

Secondly, we could have been at the Wisconsin Dells (if cell power was down) or in a log cabin in the Smokies (if there was no land line) and my trip would have been much the same. \u00a0Away from our daily routines, gathered in the same house for ten days, I had my kids\u00a0with\u00a0me dawn to dusk, without\u00a0their thumbs tapping on a cell phone or them leaning into a computer screen.<\/p>\n

We were all on a new and exciting adventure together where no one\u00a0knew\u00a0the way and we were finding it together.<\/p>\n

Yes, the French countryside was so picturesque and heavenly perfect you almost expected the director, with a\u00a0beret\u00a0of course, to step in at each corner or field of lavender with\u00a0his black and white clapperboard and say, “Cut, that’s a wrap!” (I’d write that in French but don’t know it.)<\/p>\n

But aside from the exquisite beauty of our locale, the moments, the real moments, happened in the seven person mini van we so embarrassingly, American-lookingly traversed the countryside in, as a team.<\/p>\n

With a European GPS, we would set out for a destination and invariably, there would be a glitch, at least one\u00a0moment\u00a0of right or left panic. But we rolled\u00a0with\u00a0it, laughed alot, mostly at my\u00a0youngest\u00a0who, nodding off at her window, said things like\u00a0“Oh you love that French hand lotion so much. Should I arrange for each of you to bathe in it tonight? ”<\/p>\n

Perhaps the highlight of our trip was the final\u00a0night\u00a0together. We had hired a cook, organic no less, (I know it oozes PBW) and sat\u00a0around\u00a0this great dining room table at our house with a fire roaring at one end. But before dinner, my son-in-law had the idea that my son’s girlfriend, who is a stylist for J. Crew, should raid all our closets, mix and match all our clothes and dress us all for the “last supper.”<\/p>\n

Well, it was one of the best fashion shows I have ever seen. \u00a0She went into each person’s room\u00a0with\u00a0a pile of clothes and knelt and tied and cooed and smiled and made us all feel like movie stars. \u00a0Then we each emerged from our rooms, one at a time, before dinner and walked the runway around the pool.(I know, dear God, we had a pool!)<\/p>\n

At dinner, all shiny and new with our revamped attire, we all talked about our favorite moments of the trip. And overwhelmingly, it was “What was the name of the waiter we had at lunch the first day?” or “Wasn’t it funny when we found out on the last day we had seven keys to the house and all along we had been juggling one?” “Maybe it was that crazy scops owl that made his mating call all night long, every night? \u00a0I was ready to go offer myself as a mate.” \u00a0(Again, my youngest.)<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Km3D2jq1HoQ<\/a><\/p>\n

Alas, it was the moments\u00a0between\u00a0the moments that stuck in our minds. The little gifts my\u00a0husband\u00a0picked up at the flea markets we visited each day and presented to the “ladies” at dinner each night. \u00a0The late night dancing to\u00a0iTunes\u00a0cramped in the only tiny room in the house that offered Internet. The rooftop views of the Luberon Valley. \u00a0The church bells that chimed out our windows, 24\/7 every hour on the hour and one at the half.<\/p>\n

In the noise and the stillness, we were together in a strange land and\u00a0always\u00a0familiar to each other.<\/p>\n

And that was the best gift of all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So I have little or no good\u00a0explanation\u00a0as to why I have not blogged in a month. \u00a0I guess my only excuse is time flies when you are havin’ fun. My daughter and her brood moved out about the time I took this\u00a0hiatus. Perhaps I have been prone on the couch exhausted or luxuriating in the …<\/p>\n

>>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nProvence, etc. - askmsmom.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Provence, etc. - askmsmom.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"So I have little or no good\u00a0explanation\u00a0as to why I have not blogged in a month. \u00a0I guess my only excuse is time flies when you are havin’ fun. My daughter and her brood moved out about the time I took this\u00a0hiatus. Perhaps I have been prone on the couch exhausted or luxuriating in the ...>>Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"askmsmom.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-05-10T03:17:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-05-10T14:53:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/french-window-11-300x213.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5031095d2f9410eb51dc2762789e1945\"},\"headline\":\"Provence, etc.\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-10T03:17:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-05-10T14:53:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501\"},\"wordCount\":1188,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/french-window-11-300x213.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501\",\"name\":\"Provence, etc. - askmsmom.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/french-window-11-300x213.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-10T03:17:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-05-10T14:53:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5031095d2f9410eb51dc2762789e1945\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/french-window-11.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/05\\\/french-window-11.jpg\",\"width\":\"649\",\"height\":\"461\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=1501#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Provence, etc.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"askmsmom.com\",\"description\":\"Life, love and are my bangs too short?\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5031095d2f9410eb51dc2762789e1945\",\"name\":\"Nan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ae12cbc15ee3f533cce273153c9bccbb9c7c73d1afe507843072dd50b62c82ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ae12cbc15ee3f533cce273153c9bccbb9c7c73d1afe507843072dd50b62c82ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ae12cbc15ee3f533cce273153c9bccbb9c7c73d1afe507843072dd50b62c82ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Nan\"},\"description\":\"I am a writer, counselor, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. I have three adult children and five grandchildren. Raised in the hills of West Virginia, I have spent the last thirty years in suburban America.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Provence, etc. - askmsmom.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Provence, etc. - askmsmom.com","og_description":"So I have little or no good\u00a0explanation\u00a0as to why I have not blogged in a month. \u00a0I guess my only excuse is time flies when you are havin’ fun. My daughter and her brood moved out about the time I took this\u00a0hiatus. Perhaps I have been prone on the couch exhausted or luxuriating in the ...>>Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501","og_site_name":"askmsmom.com","article_published_time":"2013-05-10T03:17:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-05-10T14:53:44+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/french-window-11-300x213.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Nan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nan","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501"},"author":{"name":"Nan","@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5031095d2f9410eb51dc2762789e1945"},"headline":"Provence, etc.","datePublished":"2013-05-10T03:17:59+00:00","dateModified":"2013-05-10T14:53:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501"},"wordCount":1188,"commentCount":2,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/french-window-11-300x213.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501","url":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501","name":"Provence, etc. - askmsmom.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/french-window-11-300x213.jpg","datePublished":"2013-05-10T03:17:59+00:00","dateModified":"2013-05-10T14:53:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5031095d2f9410eb51dc2762789e1945"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/french-window-11.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/french-window-11.jpg","width":"649","height":"461"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=1501#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Provence, etc."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/","name":"askmsmom.com","description":"Life, love and are my bangs too short?","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5031095d2f9410eb51dc2762789e1945","name":"Nan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae12cbc15ee3f533cce273153c9bccbb9c7c73d1afe507843072dd50b62c82ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae12cbc15ee3f533cce273153c9bccbb9c7c73d1afe507843072dd50b62c82ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae12cbc15ee3f533cce273153c9bccbb9c7c73d1afe507843072dd50b62c82ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Nan"},"description":"I am a writer, counselor, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. I have three adult children and five grandchildren. Raised in the hills of West Virginia, I have spent the last thirty years in suburban America.","url":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1501"}],"version-history":[{"count":55,"href":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1690,"href":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1501\/revisions\/1690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}