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Wednesday, November 16, 2016

La nature est bien faite


This morning was a rough one, the girls frayed my nerves after an early, cranky wake up call. They weren't grouchy for any particular reason (that I am aware of), it was just one of those days. After I finally wrangled them up, walked them to daycare, kissed them goodbye, and started walking home, a handful of emotions swept over me. Relief at having some time to get some things done around the house, then sadness-as much as I value my precious free time- it's always hard to say goodbye to those chubby, innocent faces. And then guilt for having left them. Mom guilt always has a way of rearing its ugly head, and it's not easy to just ignore.

In France, you often hear the expression, "la nature est bien faite" literally translating to "nature is well made," and roughly meaning "nature finds a way." When I was pregnant with twins, many people asked how I was "going to fit two in there." And my typical response was "la nature est bien faite." I like this optimistic saying and how it briefly describes the wondrous suprises of natural phemonena. You can say it if you see a plant sprouting, seemingly from out of nowhere, on the side of a brick building, or even if you've ever drunk lemon and honey tea for a sore throat, for example.

So as I was walking home, feeling a wave of guilt for having left my two little angels, who were behaving quite devilishly, for the day, I was reminded of this useful phrase, "la nature est bien faite." The Mom guilt didn't totally wash away, but it did rinse out a bit as I wondered if they might have both appreciated the diversion of daycare and new faces, as I needed a break from them and time to organize things at home without distractions. So that through the brief separation, nature will have found its way and we'll all be in better spirits this afternoon.