A Chic Paris Holiday Season – Day 28 – Thoughts from the Old Year?

 December 30, 2020

It’s the day before New Year’s Eve. It was a lovely, sunny and cold day here in Paris. I just entered the apartment – I came rushing in right at curfew time. (My daughter and I had visited friends in the 7th arrondissement.) I can tell you that we marched double-time up the hill from the metro station to reach our building by 8 pm (France’s national curfew.) What a year we have all had!

I haven’t devoted very much time yet to thinking about what types of changes or resolutions I might want to make for the new year. Today, I’ve paused to think about what I’m particularly grateful for from this past year. It’s been my very good fortune to have the opportunity to immerse myself in Fiona Ferris’s 30 Chic Days series this year as a way to navigate the uncertainties and stresses of 2020. Fiona’s positive mindset and upbeat perspective on life have been a gift of enormous proportions. It’s been definitely true that we experience all of our lives first in our minds. If we can get our thinking sorted out, we can face almost anything with a calm and positive mindset.

I am also very grateful to the nation of France for being such a charming and intriguing harbor during this tumultuous year. As just one example among many, the government decreed that chocolate shops and bread & pastry shops (boulangeries/patisseries) must stay open as “necessary services” during their two national lockdowns. No more need be said.

These are just my “first thoughts” on the many things over this past year for which I am grateful.  I will include more as I reflect more on the topic.