Appreciating what you have

I’m always telling people how lucky we are to live in a small village in the south of France and I know that we are. We are surrounded by beautiful countryside, vineyards, fruit orchards and olive groves. The Mediterranean Sea is only a short drive away and there are wonderful views of the Pyrenees. In little more than an hour we can be in Spain, in four we can be in Italy, in five, Switzerland. The climate is kind, the food and wine delicious. We are surrounded by the echoes of a long and compelling history. Nature is all around us. We hear owls and nightingales and see hares and wild boar. There are beautiful wildflowers everywhere. The villages, towns and cities that surround us are fascinating, brimming with life, culture and history. Minerve, Narbonne, Carcassonne, Toulouse. Our own village has a history spanning thousands of years.

It’s not all idyllic, though. This is where we live. There are bills and taxes to be paid, bureaucracy to be negotiated. There is work and there are doctors’ and dentists’ appointments. There are repairs to the house. Cars go wrong, boilers break down and plumbers are hard to find here too. Dogs have to be taken to the vet. Shopping has to be done. Real life encroaches and sometimes takes over. Before you know where you are, you’re telling people how lucky you are to live in a small village in the South of France but you’re not really feeling it.

You drove out of the village without looking at the snow capped mountains in the distance, you grabbed a coffee in town but didn’t bask in the sun people watching. You didn’t stop to look at the Roman road or pop up to the cloister for five minutes peace. There was no time for a walk on the beach. That bloody owl hooted all night long and kept you awake. You need to eat quickly you’re running late, sod the local produce. When was the last time you had a weekend in Spain?

Then there’s a global pandemic. You can’t leave the house for weeks. The thing that keeps you going is the fact you’re lucky to live in a small village in the south of France. When you’re released from confinement you promise you’ll never take it all for granted again.

So I promise when the lockdown is over we’ll visit, we’ll hike, we’ll see exhibitions, we’ll drive to Spain and Italy, we’ll go to the beach, we’ll drink the delicious wines made by our neighbours, we’ll eat locally produced food, we’ll delight in the history, the culture, the languages: French, Occitan, Catalan. We’ll soak up the Mediterranean sun. We’ll watch the sunset over the Pyrenees.

I’ll tell everyone we’re lucky to live in a small village in the south of France and I’ll always mean it.

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