la vie est la vie

One thing I am realizing is that life is life no matter where you go.  It is inescapable.  I still have a lot of laundry to do.  And it is less convenient with the little tiny machine I have that takes two hours to wash five shirts.  But at least I have one!  And I still have to cook meals.  And it is less convenient with no oven and no counters and a tiny refrigerator and none of my favorite pots and utensils.  But we are still eating plenty of yummy food!  And I still have to clean up after meals.  And it is less convenient with no dishwasher and the sink is really low and my back is starting to hurt and last time I didn't have a dishwasher I had two less kids and the others were smaller and we are all here all day long and since it is cold we always want a hot breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  But at least we have running water (that is sometimes warm!) and... yummy food (recurring theme).  And I still have diapers to change.  And I feel worse about it because even though I brought all of my cloth diapers, once I saw the washing machine situation I decided to just use disposables -- it was the diapers or the rest of our clothes.  But at least the disposables aren't ridiculously expensive!  And there are the other things like bathing:  I imagined having all sorts of time for pampering myself more than usual, but our hot water heater has about enough water for 1 and 1/2 baths so we really have to stagger our days, there is no shower, and the whole house is just cold and drafty.  But at least it is historic and cool!

I tend to idealize things and fantasize that everything will be so amazing when (summer comes, we go on that trip, the kids get bigger) and if (we just had a new car, a better washing machine, more money), but it all really has more to do one's outlook and attitude.  Our interior has permanence and can be molded and refined while the exterior cannot really be controlled and one must adapt to it.  Life is life wherever you are -- even in the south of France.  C'est la vie!