Andy Smallman

With both sadness and anticipation, I can feel the summer starting to wind down. It’s been a great one, what with our month in Nantes and the Boudeaus coming to Seattle. In fact, I can’t think of there having been a better summer than this one. But the weather shifted in Seattle today from being extremely sunny and hot to cloudy and cool. Fall isn’t far away.

Before bidding goodbye to summer, however, we still have the Boudeaus here to remind us of our connection to France and that summer is far from over. Tonight, we took them out to dinner at a favorite neighborhood Italian restaurant. We sat outside. Before dinner was over, we asked if the nearby heater could be turned on.

Melinda’s parents took the Boudeaus out for dinner tonight. They got back home about an hour ago and, boy, was Manon ever silly. She kept trying to draw her mother into a tickle fight. All Frédérique could do was defend herself, punctuating her physical defenses with expressions in French that clearly were attempts to get Manon to stop:

C’est fini
Terminer
Arrête

It didn’t work. I told Manon that she was being silly, a word she didn’t understand. She went online to translate it and decided I was telling her she was being ridiculous and stupid.

I think she knew I wasn’t telling her she was being either of those things, but in her silly state she made it seem so. Ah, poor Manon.

To honor her silly state, here’s another picture from our trip to France in 2000. That’s Manon on the left with her cousin Alexandre below her. Romain is on top on the right, with Chloe & Ella below him. We were in Paris all having dinner together but the kids got a little bored. I took them outside for a little game-playing.

I received this picture via email today from my uncle, my dad’s brother, Bob. Bob and his wife, my aunt, Marcie came to Reno two weeks ago to attend my niece Jessica’s wedding. They used that event for a little extended vacation with my parents. Bob and Al, my dad, like to get together. Marcie and my mom get along well so this was a win-win-win-win situation.

Receiving the photo was a pleasant thing. You know what I mean, having a photo unknown to you about a special event appear unexpectedly? I’m not saying this is necessarily a great photo, but the subject matter is pretty hot. Of course, that’s me on the left and Melinda on the right. And if you look very closely you can tell that’s Ella in between us, sitting at the table behind us (click on the photo to enlarge it).

The photo took me to a fun moment at a supremely happy family event. And isn’t that what photos are for?

About the photo I have chosen, it’s an old one of Romain & Manon that I had put in a file for days like this, days in which I’m not sure what I’ll write. I decided to use it because it gives me an excuse, as if I need one, to write about the Boudeaus. They’re up in Canada right now, having left our house early Monday for a few days up north. They’re due back tomorrow night and we’ll be with us until next Wednesday.

That means more French summer!

That’s been one of the many great things about having the Boudeaus here. It’s like our July trip to France got extended to August and our home in Seattle.

You hear that, Christine & Bernard?? Nudge, nudge.

Melinda & I took a long lunch from our administrative work at PSCS today in order to ride the light rail (tram) from its stop near the school to the airport. After having lived in France and made it our practice to ride the tram (light rail), we wanted to experience the new one in Seattle. On top of that, we wanted to know how it is riding the light rail (tram) in case we ever choose to use it to get to the airport. The similarities to the tram in Nantes were striking, which pleased us very much. It was like experiencing a little bit of “our” Nantes in Seattle.

Once at the airport, we found a nice spot to sit outside and eat our picnic lunch (see today’s photo). It was fun to be at the airport even though we weren’t flying anywhere. Watching the people in “travel mode” was entertaining, not being in travel mode ourselves, especially the young man giving flowers to his girlfriend.

Today’s post is being illustrated by a photo from last century at a PSCS event. I’m on the left, the guy with the crazy expression. The other adult is my friend David Spangler and the two kids are his, Maryn and Kaitlin. As a founding PSCS parent and mentor to me, it’s quite fair to say that PSCS would not exist without David.

For all these reasons and more, I’m thinking about David today as he underwent surgery this morning. Julie, his wife, reports that all went well and David should be home in a day or so. She said he entered surgery with his usual positive and light-hearted attitude, summarizing it this way:

“David came up to the room with humor in full swing, keeping us in laughs. Some comments were a little loopy, but most were well placed jokes, as he is so fond of doing. At one point he said, “Sorry, I can’t seem to control that part of my brain right now”…not that he ever made much effort.”

I like that part, “Not that he ever made much effort.”

So my thoughts, and this blog entry, are with David today. I invite you to join me in sending healing thoughts to David. You can learn more about him here.

Today has been an eventful day. It started with me taking Laurent & Frédérique for a 90 minute run, reminiscent of one they took me on two weeks ago in Nantes. After that, I dropped off Laurent & Manon at Green Lake and they ran around the lake together. Picking them up, we learned that Chloe had fallen and seriously injured the big toe on her right foot, necessitating a 3 hour trip to the hospital where her toenail was surgically reattached (all together now — eww!!!). Hopefully, a new toenail will grow to replace it.

Anyway, that little “big toe” event altered the plans for the day but it’s not stopping all of us, Chloe included (I hope) to be heading out to meet Brenda, Greg & Perrin for a pizza dinner in Ballard.

Today’s photo actually comes from last Sunday at the Reno airport. That’s Chloe and Manon occupying themselves with electronic devices while we waited to board our plane.

Last thing for today – a big 25th happy birthday to our niece, Stephanie!

That’s my brother Scott on the left, with Laurent. At long last, the two got to meet today. You may know, or you may recall, that last summer Scott hosted Laurent’s son Romain for three mornings at his office (Scott is a stock broker), experience that proved to be very valuable for Romain. Laurent was able to personally appreciate Scott today with a bottle of fine French wine.

This photo, though, was taken in the tasting room of a small winery just north of the little town of Woodinville in Western Washington. Knowing Laurent (and Frédérique) would be in town, Scott had set up a private wine-tasting event for all of us. It was a great time, culminating with Laurent buying a bottle of wine to take back home with him to France.

The wine-maker was very pleased. As was Scott. As was Laurent.

That’s how Frédérique referred to Dwight tonight. And it’s that connection, Frédérique with Dwight & Michele, Melinda’s parents, that has lead to so many positive things in our families. Years ago Frédérique needed a place to stay for a short trip to Seattle and was placed at the Shaw’s. That began the family connection. In short order, Dwight & Michele had become fast friends with Joel & Monique, Frédérique’s parents. A short time later, Annabelle, Frédérique’s sister came to live with Dwight & Michele for a year. Two years ago Melinda & I chose Nantes for our French sabbatical because of the presence there of Frédérique’s family.

The lesson in this is to be friendly with every person you meet and to see these meetings as the potential start of something significant. You never know if your children might become best friends with your friend’s children.

Ella spent the night last night with her good friend, Chloe (not to be confused with her good sister, Chloe). Chloe attends PSCS, just like Ella, and I think it’s safe to say that each is the other’s best school friend.

Both girls will be turning 16 in the not-too-distant future and in anticipation, Chloe’s mom acquired a fixer-upper old car for Chloe to use once she gets her license. The girls have been having a great time cleaning it up, which, as I understand it, involved removing rust from the car’s interior. Amy captured this shot of the girls cleaning the inside of the trunk. The shot gave me a chuckle.

In other news of the day, the Boudeaus traveled to Mt. Rainier this morning for a little tour and picnic. They are due back in an hour or so for dinner, and will be joining representatives of the Shaw family. On top of that, it’s my brother Scott’s 53rd birthday. Happy birthday, Scott!