Friday 25 July 2014

July has been a month of transformation. Indy turned seven on 19 July, the day that we moved to France two years ago. Amidst the chaos of her pool birthday pool, we managed to find a moment to look around us and appreciate how much we have achieved in that relatively short space of time.

Happy Coulson is not the only thing to transform – Indy lost both front teeth in a matter of days. I always think this is a real turning point, when a child’s face begins to transform, giving hints of what they will look like into adulthood. Indy is so grown up now – I really hope the diligent way she is caring for her new birthday rabbits is not just a phase…

Another transformation, observed with humour by Chris, was how I cater for my children’s birthday parties. When we moved to France, I was horrified at how kids ate just cake and sweets at birthday parties, usually drinking sugary, fizzy drinks as well. For the first two years, I persisted with cherry tomatoes and cucumber sticks and crisps (if you were lucky). This year, however, before I even realised what I was doing, I had served up rainbow cupcakes with sweets on, with more sweets on the side. Fizzy drinks are still a step too far for me but I did flavour the water.

To round off a truly transformational month, today our local town of Maubourguet morphed from a sleepy village of 3,000 inhabitants into a bustling crowd of more than 10,000. People came in droves to witness the start of stage 19 of the Tour de France, the first time this has happened here.

First, a convoy of brightly-decorated sponsorship vehicles, hurling toys and sweets into the crowds. Then the cars and coaches bringing bikes and teams. And finally, the lining up and departure of 140 cyclists, all looking rather tired after the hard ride in the Pyrénées yesterday. They were gone in a flash and people immediately started melting away – it’s exhausting work, this metamorphosis.

Filed under: Happy Coulson

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