FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

Exciting news for sure and I can't wait to hear what the next chapter brings. As for your question - change, and the quest for it, is what keeps me going. Sending love to you and the family.

Dear kristi and Jean Marc,
I recommend that you read The Parable of the Trapeze, which is now easily found online. .I had the rug pulled out from under my life and as challenging and yes, painful at times,Iit brought much success and growth and joy that probably would not have occurred otherwise.May you meet many angels in disguise along the way and may this next chapter in your lives be the best yet. I can’t wait to read about how fabulous it is.

With gratitude for all the enjoyment you work has given,
Arolyn

Wishing you both well as a new door of life opens for you. Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année !

Dear Kristi and Jean-Marc,

Merry Christmas in advance and Congrats to Jean-Marc with the sale of the wine shop that I was happy to visit three times. Best of luck with the new chapter! 'A rolling stone gathers no moss' ...

-Jens

Oui, je me lance dans l'inconnu. My husband died this past summer. We were married 59 years, and he was the love of my life. In May 2023 I will be coming to France all on my own, arranging all my flights and trains, spending a day in Paris and then meeting up in Dordogne with a small group of people that I've never met and spending a week in that region. Then I will go to spend 5 days with some French pen pals (they speak French, no English). This will be a cocktail of enthusiasm, discomfort, fear and pride, for sure.

So many courageous & inspiring stories here, ( I particularly like Gail’s!!!!)

Change brings opportunity!

Bonne chance & Joyeux Noel.

Elaine

Absolutely love your stories Kristi. Gentle and masterful. Very best wishes to JM for new adventures and to you all a very happy Christmas.

Chère Kristin -- You two always land on your feet! I have no doubt that you will do that same this time. Félicitations d'avoir vendu le shoppe. That's a great start. I changed careers three times and learned from each one. Beginnings were sometimes a bit rocky, but you know that already. Hope you can stay in your lovely home on the sea.

Joyeux Noel and warmest wishes for happiness and health as you begin a new adventure in 2023.

Ophelia

Making a change "later" in life (35 years ago) at the age of 40 and with three young children and with my wife's unwavering support, I chucked my job in a bank and went back to university to study translation/interpreting. I speak 5 languages and it took one of my customers to push me to use them...and I have never looked back. I completed my Masters in Translation in 4 of the 5 languages and have never been happier. I loved my work and (so I have been told by clients) it showed. It would never have happened without a wife who worked all day (systems analyst), ran the household and 3 children singlehanded, and I never heard a word of complaint for the two years. We are now both retired and enjoying each other's company...

Ooh lala ! As an Aries change is always exciting !!

I went to England for a year and ended up staying 10 years and married a Dutch man.
After that didn’t work out, I planned (hahahahaha) to stay there… yet life had other ideas.

When I finally thought … ok, it is time to to leave England and go home to NZ, I then met my (now) Swiss husband in India and spent a few months flying backwards and forwards to Switzerland before moving here.

Now, having lived here for 11 years I realise :
Life is a permanent mystery
It’s always going to work out
it always moves in beautiful ways your mind could never imagine (nor plan!)

How fun! How exciting!

I love to give my mind this question :

How does it get better than this?

Then I let life open up all possibilities and wait :-)

Love and best wishes to you both however the wind may blow.

New adventures await you for sure! I retired from aerospace at age 55 and after managing a major remodel of our home bought my first Standard Poodle, Angie, and have enjoyed the best venture of my life - breeding and raising poodle puppies. Small time - only one litter a year and sending bundles of furry licky puppies off to new homes in the arms of smiling people. Unlike most breeders, I encouraged people to visit the puppies weekly from shortly after birth, so we have made many dear friends and places multiple generations in those people’s homes. Truly the most rewarding experience of my life. A lot of hard work but also the joy of seeing this little creatures go from warm, moist blobs in my hands to bouncing, tail wagging puppies. Life began at 55 for me when I walked out of the door of my corporate office forever! Bon chance! You will find new joys in the weeks and years to come.

Gail, what an adventure you will have. I am impressed and encouraged. I am 78 and going to France in September alone and with different things planned. I am going to stop worrying! Bon courage à vous. Barbara

In 2017 at the age of 57 I decided to put my B.A. in French to use and become a high school French teacher. I hired 3 tutors to get me ready for the PRAXIS, passed it, and have been teaching high school French for 3 years. I am half way through my M. Ed. In English as a Second Language and am thinking about a doctorate. No, it is never to late to for a new challenge and adventure and it’s excellent for your brain!!!

Felicitations! You and Jean Marc have had some amazing adventures already. I am certain that you will find even more in the future.
I was a French teacher for many years, also managed a women's boutique and spent 6 years as a commissioner on the Iowa Conservation Commission setting seasons for fish and game and looking after state parks. At the age of 46 I left teaching and went to law school. My favorite part of practicing law was moving to New Mexico and helping Native Americans with their legal problems. After retiring I trained as a docent at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe.

Courage!

Hi and congrats on this big life change (for both of you!) and I LOVE the quote! I was around 40 when I quit my job as a magazine editor in NYC and moved to St. Remy...with no French skills, no idea how I might make a living and only one local friend. The idea, I seem to remember, was that I'd stay three months and then go back to real life, whatever that meant! Still here, 20-plus years later. Merry Christmas, Kristi! Wishing you and your family all the best things in the year ahead! xx

Yes, I struck out and my husband left his career in Hollywood as a screenwriter to join me in ...MAKING DOUGH. Well not at first, but we needed to pay mortgages, help kids, you name it, and my focaccia was a tiny success in the neighborhood. One night I said, JUMP...no net...but I have to jump and did. Buona Forchetta Hand Made Breads was born and took us through 11 years of wonderful adventures, plus being, according to W Magazine, one of the 7 best bakeries in the world. Now we are retired in France, no more LA. Need I say more. Still, moving is not my favorite activity, but France and Italy are now our homes.

Congratulations! I'm 61 and this is the most encouraging post. Thank you!

I’m reminded of the line: “I love change! You, first.”

Yes, stop worrying! I'm 77 and before Covid hit I traveled solo to France many times. Never had a problem except for my lack of direction which resulted in getting lost more than once while driving through the beautiful French villages. Some people thought I was crazy to travel solo but it was always fantastic. When you're solo you can change your plans on a whim, do whatever you want to do without consulting anyone and most importantly, meet locals whom you likely would not have met if you were with traveling companions. Hint: always greet shopowners with a "bonjour" when entering their shop and when leaving, a "bonne journee"

Bon Voyage!

Bonne chance to you and Jean-Marc on whatever lies ahead. Of course, getting our apartment in France was a big leap for my husband and me. We won't move there permanently, but the act of moving back and forth between two countries on a regular basis has brought new perspectives on what we value in our lives. But the changes in our lives as we age and retire is nothing compared to the shake-ups in our lives as our grown children make changes in their own lives, moving across the country and from continent to continent. As much as I want them here for Sunday dinner every week, I take a deep breath and open myself to releasing parental expectations.

Yes, Kristi, I have been striking out, and must continue to strike out, into the unknown later in life, ever since my husband died in August of 2020. That process has become more pronounced, and urgent, since our beloved Bob the Long-Haired Dachshund died at sunrise on December 1, after a freak accident.

And...every evening, I am reading a bit more of George Eliot's "Middlemarch" before I go to sleep. Best wishes for a Christmas full of grace, Leslie

Life is change..........nothing stays the same..........good luck in coming ventures..

Dear Kristi,

I am encouraged to hear that JM's shop has sold. I feel that being in limbo is the most difficult place to be. One feels stuck and our energy does not flow. Thus, one finds it challenging to move forward. My late father told me to jump - just do anything but remain stuck. For me, this is not the answer. I'd rather be still and be guided to the next step through prayer and meditation.

I whole-heartedly agree with George Eliot's quote! I've lived it. I set out to follow my dreams 25 years ago. After many detours and much heartbreak, I made the decision to change my life four years ago, just as I was turning 53. My heart spoke to me and I listened. Today, more of my dreams have come true than my younger self could have imagined possible. I see now that the detours were because I did not listen to my heart, or trust myself. I believe that those paths led me to where I am now; they are a part of my story.

I've enjoyed reading all the comments here - there is so much wisdom in your readers! The courageous changes people have made! I agree with "Wherever you do, there you are" and I loved the words from Tom Waits. When we are young, we have a plan for everything. Life happens when we are making plans. It truly is the simple moments that bring us joy and fond memories - but we must find peace within ourselves. I love the image of you striding out to gather smiles and sticks! You have always seen the bright side of any situation. I admire your heart and gumption.

Joyous Birthday and Merry Christmas! I'm excited to hear what adventures of the heart are in store for you! Much love, Stacy

Yes! We are in Taos and loving it!

Kristi,
Congratulations on the sale of the wine shop. May JM be blessed with a new vision to follow. Thanks to all for sharing your stories of change in mid-life. In two years, I will have a big change, but this particular issue has made me excited and hopeful in a new way. Thanks to Kristi for starting this conversation, and Merry Christmas to all!

Well, just a thought but if you really want a change of scenery, move to central Texas. Seems like there's a new vineyard or wine shop every week, somewhere in the area, and I can't help wondering if most of them know anything about grapes or wine!

Of course, there's no beach… the Mediterranean must be spectacular, and there's nothing on the Texas Gulf coast that could ever compare for someone from there. Good luck, whatever your next adventure is!

Felicitations Kristi et Jean-Marc! I love all of these encouraging comments from your readers. We are cheering you on knowing, as someone said, you and Jean-Marc always land on your feet, with God's help and guidance. Les nouvelles aventures vous attendant! Bon courage!

Change is always interesting, n'est-ce pas, even if it can be uncomfortable. I enjoyed your latest blog post, Kristi, and hope that all works out well eventually for the both of you.

Having struck a blow for change a few times in my life, the biggest were going back to uni as a mature age student in my 50s, continuing until I'd finished my PhD. A couple of years later, I moved to Hong Kong for an adventure, teaching English in a small Chinese primary school on an outlying island.

Ten years later (!), I moved back to Australia and am now enjoying retirement. Loads of things to do and it's so nice to have the time to do them all. Language study is high up there - I'd already been studying French and Italian for some years, and Japanese intermittently. Now working on German and Indonesian. Good for the brain, although it can get a little confusing at times.

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année à vous.

Kristi,
Bon courage. You also seem to land on your feet. Change might be scary, but then again, it can be just what is needed. I had a career teaching and then as an adjunct professor, so career changes aren’t in my portfolio, but many people that I know have had many changes of careers and seem to also come out ahead. Think positively and pray to help calm any anxieties which might arise.
I was planning to visit MJ’s wine shop this fall, but alas, that will not happen. We will be in Provence the end is August and beginning of September. We will be there for our 21st anniversary. Maybe we can connect again during out visit.
Merry Christmas nd Happy New Year.
Peace, Kathleen

Chère Kristi ,
j’ai adoré l’épisode avec Smokey quand tu as préparé le gâteau yaourt- il était un vrai star de cinéma! C’était aussi amusante en utilisant la boite pour ajouter “grossièrement “ les mesures!
Je te souhaite Joyeux Noël et bravo ,Jean -Marc!
Bisous, Barbara

May many glorious and unexpected blessings abound in the New Year 🙏 🎉🥳 for you, your beautiful family, and your faithful readers who inspire all of us with their compelling life stories. (My favorite one was getting a law degree to help Native American Indians with legal problems! Change can bring about noble causes and new growth all around.)
Peace, Peace, and Peace ❤️

hello, Kristi: I am so encouraged by your own blog & by all the comments I've read; you have encouraged me to start writing my own blog (primarily to keep up with people from the past & those I love whom I haven't seen for a while). I, too, have changed my life; being married for 10 years, 3 beautiful children, I knew it wasn't all I needed or wanted. Perhaps, selfishly, I left everything & everyone & struck out on my own. Many years of pain without my girls; but, over the course of life, much has been resolved & life certainly changed for all of us. I met the man of my now 31 year marriage who encouraged me to go back to school; I did & received a BS & MS in Health & Nutrition. So, George Eliot has it right; as does Jean Marc! Congratulations on the sale of the shop; . I look forward to your writing & all the people who offer such insightful comments! Amicalmente, Ann Sorocki Bonne Annee! May we all know good health & peace!!!

I retired after 31 years with the government and my husband and I came to France with our two dogs for three months as a well deserved retirement present. We decided it was two short a time and went back to Texas to put our affairs in order, store our possessions and rent out our house. We then came back to France with the dogs in tow and lived in four different places (one place twice) in the Brittany and Normandy area. After ten months we decided we wanted to stay, cancelled our plane tickets home and arranged with a former proprietor to lease his house indefinitely in the port of Cancale. That was in 2014 and end of story, we are still here.