Let’s get to know each other #2

Remember, last week, I started to share a bit more about me?

I find quite a bit of comfort in having decided that Mondays would be best for personal disclosures. So without further ado, here are the answers to three burning questions you wanted to know about me but were too shy to ask. Just kidding, I was the one to chose them. 😉

If you could paint a picture of any scenery you’ve seen before, what would you paint?

You’ve understood by now I am a nature girl at heart.

Look at this vista! The morning sun, piercing through the clouds. Its reflection on the river and the smoke chimneys in the distance. That would be something I’d love to be able to paint. The photo does not do it justice. In real life, it’s like waking up in a fairyland, where anything is possible while magic awaits at every corner.

Copyright ©Far Away in the Sunshine 2010 – 2020

Another scenery I’d love to paint would be a stormy cloudscape like this one.

Copyright ©Far Away in the Sunshine 2010 – 2020

Can you feel the wind starting to shake the tree branches as the angry clouds are getting ready to wash all our troubles away? Do you smell the salt in the air? Can you feel your face tingle with anticipation? Yes? me too 🙂

What is the earliest memory you have?

I fell quite poorly when I was two years old. The fall was so bad that I got covered in bruises for quite a long time. We were at the time at my grandmother’s house. After the customary house-visit, the doctor had declared there was nothing to be done but to wait. I was weak; he did not know if I would make it. In desperation, either my mother or my grand-mother called the “guerisseuse”; A local woman known for her plant knowledge and various “old women” medicines the modern doctors refused to use anymore. She came daily and covered me in a kind of mud while wrapping me in soft bandages. The whole ritual took a bit more than a week. It turned out the muck she applied must have had strong healing properties as my bruises disappeared. I was able to walk again and resume my toddler activities as if nothing had ever happened to me.

Here is the backstory to my earliest memory.

I understand it is not possible to have memories before four or five years of age. However, I clearly remember looking up hand on the few steps of the wooden stairs and seeing a pair of legs standing up above me. I can see the skirt above the legs, the flowy type. I also hear a deep voice screaming: “Nooooooooooo….’ It is all in black and white. The first time I mentioned it to my mom: she looked back at me surprised; “You can’t possibly remember that,” she said. When I pressed her, she told me what had happened.

 Have you ever felt something you can’t explain?

Back in July 2013, my mother passed away. Grief worked its way through me; with time, the pain seemed to fade away. On October 31st, I went to bed while realizing for the very first time that I will never feel my mother hugs again.

She was not a hugger. She hated hugs; I loved hugs, still do.

So anytime I could when I came to visit back home in France, and if she wanted, I’d place my arms tight around her so I could give her the biggest bear hug possible. She’d laugh and tell me to let go barely a minute after.

That night as I was drifting to sleep, I felt a giant presence hugging me so tight. I was safe and loved as if in that moment, I was a small child protected in the arm of her mother. To this day, I remember the sensation even if I am having a hard time describing it. I have never been able to explain what this could have been. Any ideas?

I hope on your side of the screen this is easy to read, because dear friends on this side of the screen it is quite hard to write. I’d love to know what you think.

Oh, I almost forgot, any questions you’d like me to answer next week?

Day 9 of 30