"Extremely Grateful and Extraordinarily Content"

Nat in her wedding dress

"Extremely grateful and extraordinarily content" is the way I'm feeling this morning.

And part of the reason is that I found a new blogger, via Vicki Archer's FRENCH ESSENCE, called A LIBRARY OF DESIGN by Janelle McCullough.  I was reading an except from her book LA VIE PARISIENNE and came across these descriptives.

One of the joys of my life these days when I am no longer going to Paris with any regularity is to read the blogs and look at the pictures of women who are still enjoying a place where I once planned to live.

What kept me from it? Probably several things, but the most important one at the time was that my first grandchild was on her way into my life.

And here she is, 25 years later, my only granddaughter Nat, posing for me to shoot some pictures before her wedding in a dress she designed herself.  The light on her hair as it falls over her eyes, the pearls in the necklace, and the blurry colors in the background all give me that feeling of gratitude and contentment.

Another reason for my gratitude and contentment is that my oldest McLelland grandson, Bert, is spending the weekend with me.  We are living on pasta and Poirot, reading our writing aloud to each other -- well, he's reading his writing to me.

As soon as he wakes up and gets the sleep out of his eyes, I'm going to take him to eat lunch at one of my favorite places, The Brown Bag.  It's not Paris, but the food is good Southern cooking.  It's a bit far out, but worth the trip and one of the few places open on a Saturday.  I think Bert will like their fried chicken.

Do I regret not living in Paris?  Not at all when I think of the happiness that being a grandmother has given me.  Do I still like to think about Paris, read about Paris, see pictures of Paris?  Most certainly, I do.  And finding blogs like FRENCH ESSENSE and A LIBRARY OF DESIGN add to the feeling of gratitude and contentment I'm feeling this morning.

All in all, I am reminded of what arrogant and ungrateful creatures we sometimes are when we throw away with both hands what life has so freely given us.  And why?  Because WE WANT something else.  At least, in this instance, I didn't throw away the joys of being near those I love -- and I can still enjoy Paris virtually.