Day 121

Foul Weather Friends.

That's what I call them.  That's what I call my "true" friends.  It is quite easy to be a friend to someone when times are high.  Not so easy when they are a pain in your ass and demanding that you give them time that you often do not have.  A "true" friend answers the call, time and time again, expecting nothing in return.  A "true" friend is content in the knowledge that when you are needed and the call is given, you will be there in like kind.  This has always been my measure of friendship, which may explain why I have so few "true" friends.  We have made friendships with two such families since we have been here in France.  Our American friends who you know well by now, and the French couple who helped us purchase vehicles to a lesser extent only in that we have not been afforded the luxury of developing that relationship further.  We would endeavor to build this relationship further on Day 121.  The plan was lunch at our house and then a run down to the Centre Ville to take in the River Festival that was going on.

Apparently there were going to be 500 plus brave/insane folks diving into the muddy (yeah, that's what we will call it . . . muddy) Garonne River to have a bit of a swim from one shore to the next.  I really didn't want to miss this carnage, and it was a nice opportunity to spend some quality time with our French friends.  The weather, however, had other ideas.  We made an attempt to head down to the river via public transit only to find that the bus drivers were on strike.  Returning to our home in order to pile into our respective cars for the trip down, the skies turned dark and rain set in.  Foul weather friends indeed.  Didn't intend for that to be a literal type thing.  Sometimes in life, even something as inconvenient as a public transit strike works out in your favor.  We decided to cancel the trip and made plans to get together again over the coming weekend.  We bid them farewell and spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening tending to pending move that is now only 10 days or so away.

With a busy weekend and continued focus on relocation, I was not able to write these posts over the weekend.  As such, I once again face the daunting task of catching back up.  Unfortunately, when I get this far behind, I also have my loving wife busting my balls and inquiring why I haven't posted my comments for the day yet.  It would seem she is somewhat addicted to reading my recaps of the day, even though she herself has lived through them.  Seems odd to me in that if she wanted to know what I think, she could just ask.  I think she enjoys the sneak peak into my psyche that I wouldn't ordinarily share with her at will.  Strange, I know, but with two growing boys in the house, we don't seem to have much time for daily reflection and adult conversation.  I will make every effort to update the remainder of the afternoon by close of business today.  Speak to you again real soon . . . R.