We have made a routine In another country With morning pains au chocolat and walks up the river with the promise of an ice cream at the end. Adventures to neighbouring coastal towns void of humans. Navigating driving around roundabouts on the right in a campervan while juggling your endless questions about where other people might be going and the sudden explosion of noise when you spot a UK sticker. Never have I had so many conversations about UK stickers and number plates. Foreign words tried out on repeat un, deux, trois s’il vous plaît Bonjour. Snakes and ladders found in a draw of the air bnb I wish I’d never opened - it’s all you want to play but if I win the noise can probably be heard from the galette cafe down the road. So I let the battle be lost by me and stuff another piece of croissant into my mouth and slurp my tea Noisily. Counting steps up to a view of the sea ending on a different number each day despite the same amount of steps. Sand castles made on a windy beach in the evening sun that’s still chilly in the early spring evenings. The excitement and fear your little hand communicates as we navigate crossing a stream as it meets the sea. So many emotions packed into a few metres and minutes and your celebrations as we reach the other side punctuates the end of another day of routines that are already familiar. Meeting disappointment head on as we find out the Boulangerie is shut on Jeudi’s which jars our morning routine. Pure joy on your face at finding that the village shop sells baguettes on a Jeudi. More joy on your face at eating the baguette from the paper bag while walking by the river on the way home saying Bonjour and Aurevoir to the water as it hides and reappears between bricks. The excitement at seeing the same duck each day And the laughter when it turns upside down. Thought you'd stick your head in the water and look for some food did ya Duck You shout like a football fan might shout at Lionel Messi. Trips to the village shop hoping to find inspiration for dinner where the same food sits on the same shelves. Finding out the wooden sliding blind in your room has a handy hole in the middle to slide it back and forth with but the person who designed it failed to think of the sunlight that could waft in and wake a sleeping child at an unhelpful time in the morning. And so the adventures go on And so we sing the same song And so Tim Minchin has a lot to answer for As Revolting Children has been the theme tune to our time away and it’s impossible to get it out of my head even after considering to learn the words in French in the middle of the nuit. Routines in a different country Figuring things out as we go Your sadness as we say goodbye But we will be back, we know.
little voices 