start a new

This is a new day, here in France, and my heart is happy.


Yesterday, we celebrated with our neighbors, then we went to the Bastille, and it was beautiful to see this crowd: happy, joyful, and driven by the same desire to change and start a new.

Like in politics, I feel like it's time for a change in my life too. Not a big change, but a deep one. I started cleaning out the closets and getting rid of all the things that I have collected through the years and never use. It's painful for me to separate from material things, especially baby and children clothes, but I can't stand the mess and the stuffy closets anymore. I allowed myself to keep a small box with clothes that no one will probably ever wear again, dresses and pants that I associate so much with moments spent with my children, I just can't give them away, even to my niece, and I need to know they'll always be there. 
But I think that all the things we keep are like covers over time, layers of memories that we materialize in order not to forget. So I've decided to take pictures of some things that I will throw or give away and that I want to remember. A coat. A used baby sock. Drawings (oh my, I haven't gone through that yet...)


I wish I had a big cellar to put everything on the side without having to see it each time I open a closet. But I know it would just be the same. I remember my grandparents who used to collect everything, their house had become a gigantic mess of piles and broken things, it was almost unbearable to see, and it was hard to breathe just to be there. And when they died and my mother and aunt had to sell their house, we had to sort every single thing, throw away a ton of old magazines and stuff that made them feel safe. I want to be stronger than that, and try to feel safe without piling up things around me, like an armor against time and life.


This reminds me of one of my favorite songs ever.

Have a lovely week everybody.