I would like to say.. Welcome to the next chapter.
To any one reading or wondering, who is this woman ?
Bievenue! Only.. we are Not in Paris anymore(see previous posts)
( I  might feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ, "Toto, we're not in Kansas"
Same sense of dislocation is my point here in case I got this quote wrong)

I am now relocated - my family of three kids aged 6,8 and 10 (et moi) from Paris, France to Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
Just enough South for plenty of iced tea and not too many mosquitoes. Leaving behind baguettes and crazy motorbikes and dogs in Burberry sweaters...to look out for copperhead snakes and a green mist of pollen that coats houses and cars.
So last summer I unpacked myself, the  kids, 250 boxes, found the supermarket, forgot to water the Douglas Firs ( lost them).. got a cat! Registered children in school, soccer, ballet, the Y and located the nearest posh mall.. you got it, important stuff.

Admired my neighbors' beautiful yards. Admired some more. Felt very grateful to previous owners for leaving me yard that will not disgrace neighborhood due to lack of ongoing beautifying.
Awesome churches, wonderful beaches, acres of forest and lakes. Whole Foods and Farmers Markets. So much to see...speaking English. A novelty which those of us who lived in foreign lands should never take for granted. Like Target.

Missed Paris very badly. Forgot how to speak French anyhow but we kept on missing all its cobblestoned, historical, creative, frustrating, incredible charm. Sigh. Think we imagine we'd get back on a plane after summer, when the novelty of Target and the pool wore off.

It's taken awhile. Now I have all these great photos and a fondness for iced tea ( and Californian wines, but not, I am sorry to say, Grits).I survived the pollen and met great  new friends. And a whole lot of growing up is still going on. I think it might be therapeutic to share it the journey.