The days are getting just a little bit longer, the French stores haves sales,  and today – after a full and wonderful weekend with friends and family, the sun was out, the air was crisp, and the cobwebs started clearing from my holiday hazed brain.  What more could I ask for?  Now that the dust has settled and the new year is in full swing, I am ready to review the past, enjoy it or let it go, and move on to a bigger and brighter new year.  This morning’s walk with Mr. B was a wonderful moment for reflection and quiet.  I didn’t have a plan, but I found myself picking up little interesting tidbits from the ground.  After I returned from the walk and started to put together the collection, it occurred to me that my gatherings were a wonderful metaphor for this ex-pat life so many of us have chosen.  We have organized ourselves in miscellaneous groups, folks from all over who come together for a period of time, and make up a fabulous, fun, and sometimes slightly crazy collection.  We play off each other: supporting each other, teasing each other, sharing a glass of wine, a laugh, and sometimes a tear when the going gets rough.  Life would be so much less rich without all those we have collected on the way. Cheers to you, my friends and co-conspirators in mischief!

Here’s to wishing all of you a wonderful, healthy, and happy 2015!