Well our time in the city of lights has come to a quiet close. It has been a wonderful nearly five months here is Paris with the exception of the three pickpocket events. We have made many new friends...we will miss Mr Elie who greets us with a quiet bow when we pass his upholstery shop, I will miss the butcher at the farmers market as well as the produce sellers who have helped me to learn about French cuisine in a very primitive way. I am going to miss the lady with the graying curly hair at at the local Coquelicot. I will even miss the man who sells chestnuts that have been roasted over a charcoal fire in a shopping cart at the top of the Abesses Metro steps.

We have found some good friends at local hangouts, the folks who own and work at Koff the "American" restaurant across the street from our apartment...thanks for the burgers on lonely days, We will miss the couscous at the Rendezvous Au Montmartre bistrot across the street and the kind folks who work there who have become friends as well. We will miss hot chocolate at Angelina's and walks through the Tuileries.

But more than all of that we will miss the time with Emma and Scarlet and the special time we have had to get to know them better. I will miss Scarlet's big smile/grin when I walk into the room. I will miss the walks home from school with Emma and our conversations about princesses and the assorted people we pass on the walk. I will miss stopping to look at the dancing flowers and looking for the dancing Santa in the shop window. And then again there will always be Arthur or Frozen or our all time favorite George. It will be a much quieter life without those two in our daily patterns.

We will miss Trevor and Sophie. The time with them has been more than special it has been magical. It was the first time we were able to just spend time with them and not be in a hurry because it would end in a week or two. There is something very different about seeing and being around your grown children...you see what they have become, you see yourself in their actions, you see their values and not just the front they put up when they visit. I can honestly say I am very proud of our son and will always cherish his beautiful French wife.

So now it is off to sleep. The car will be here very early to take us to Charles De Gaulle airport and the beginning of the next chapter...stay tuned for life in the Pacific Northwest.