Making up..... As we made our way back to paris, we had our first fight on this trip. I was so mad at him that we had an almost silent two hour car trip. I made sure to breath heavily through my nose, just so he would know how mad I was. When we got to our sight near the champagne region of france, instead of celebrating our last real night in france,we were ignoring each other and I for one ,was thinking unpleasant thoughts . We went up to the restaurant for some dinner. They had a grassy area with a park and a bounce house for the kids to play on while they wait. I sat down with a book and a glass of wine still stewing over our day. After a little while though I started feeling sad that we were wasting precious time like this. I went over and spied on jimmie and the boys who were engrossed in a game of tackle on the bounce house. I had a mental battle with myself. Part of me wanted to hang on to being mad, as if letting go of my anger excused his annoying behavior. But as I watched him play with the kids my stone heart melted away. Yes its true,he can be very frustrating, , but as I watched in silence I started singing a song in my head," he's close enough to perfect for me" Soon he stopped jumping, and We shared a much needed hug and kiss. As soon as he came to join me for my glass of wine, the band started playing our wedding song.( eric clapton you look wonderful tonight ) We stared at each other in disbelief at the timing. Jim was convinced it was not a coincidence. Over diner, I sat very thankful that our family has had this time together. Sure, we have some bugs to work out, who doesn't? But we go together like peanut butter and jelly. Sometimes more like gasoline and matches.We have had the most amazing six weeks together. At home we fill our lives with a nonstop swinging door of friends and family. Though I wouldn't change a thing, I sometimes wondered if we would do all right together in the absence of so much commotion. The answer is a resounding YES! We really enjoyed each others company ( most of the time) With the end closing in on us and the realities of the real world coming ever closer it was time to contemplate the benefit of us throwing all caution to the california wind we left behind ,and see if this was all worth it. Yes, we spent our life savings, which was not much, and ignored all the conservative financial advice we were raised up to believe is so beneficial, But in return we gained the largest gain in a six week period ever. No maybe not financially, but on a million other ways. We will always remember this. If I had some catastrophic accident tomorrow, and had to picture myself in a happy place to escape some sort of pain, i would have to choose which happy memory to go back to. My family skinny dipping on a row boat in cinquetera, jim and I trespassing ,and drinking our coffee as the sun went down in st tropez, my silent jog in dordogne with the smell of jasmine, old stone and warm spring air, Us walking across the london bridge, then enjoying mooshy peas, beer and fish and chips, the boys giving the most genuine bear hugs to some sweet couple we never met in italy after enjoying the most amazing meal on earth. How about the french village of chateau double with friendly amazing people who made us feel part of their special lives for a evening. The best pizza on earth in barcelona.The beauty of the women who basked in the warm Mediterranean sun in all their naked glory. Even the skinny hairy man mediating with his nuts and hot dog hanging out. If I had to choose a happy memory, my brain would probably burst from All the confusion of choices. With all these happy thoughts why waste more time being pissed off about the misgivings of my mate,( as the english call their friends) So with that said, we carried on and had an awesome evening. The band consisted of two old farts with a few teeth. The restaurant was an old stone building as quaint as one would hope for in champagne. The music was better and better the more champagne we drank. We had to do that, we were in champagne after all. As we were finishing our dinner, I saw inside the stone restaurant people gathering to dance. Young and old alike, they raised their hands, shook their butts scooted their feet. We had to join. The rest of the night all five of us danced the night away. At one point I looked across the dance floor, dripping in sweat from head to toe,smiling from ear to ear, and every single human under that roof was dancing. I looked across the room and an eighty year old couple swayed back and forth smiling happily at each other. The girls who were working behind the bar hung on to each others shoulders as they sang and tossed back and forth. I looked down and brock was holding his hands in a fist like position while swinging to the beet. It may have been the happiest moment in my life. And for the first time in the last several weeks, with the music uniting the obvious language barrier, we finally fit in. We were european.