One Year Left to Live… Part II
The idea is to spend as much time together as we can while the kids are young enough to assimilate to a new culture. To end up in a place where family and health are important, and that also has a strong economic future. A land with warmer weather, 320 days of sunshine per year and a close journey to our home in Budapest. This would give our family the life we deserve, one that focuses on time currency and not just chasing the dollar.
With the South of France as our goal, we are preparing by learning French. Alfonz and I at a night-school program and the kids have Fatiha, a hired primary school teacher with a great understanding of the subtleties between Persian and Francophone French. So far so good! Angelina and Daniel absorb quickly and of course Alfonz is the master linguist. I, sadly fall 4th, but if determination counts for anything I get an A+.
The vision looks like this; a large home in the Languedoc region in the South of France, close to tourist attractions and en route to the sea. A garden with a large table overlooking the Pyrenees Mountains or rolling countryside where travelers would sit while I served them Coq Au Vin with ingredients from my beautiful garden that happens to seed twice a year. I see a house with a kitchen that we would live in and I see an adjoining house with 3 separate rental rooms, suites or floors for guests to stay in. There’s a swimming pool to cool down in and a beautiful vineyard. The sun is setting; our glasses toast and our life would be restful, rewarding and happy.
The kids might enjoy long days in the Mediterranean Sea, learn the language and absorb the culture. I see Alfonz fixing up the house, and taking the kids to school. Maybe he’d find a new business venture or take a course in cooking or drawing. He happens to have the soul of a true artist. How he ever became a successful businessperson I will never know! I can see him taking guests on trips to Paris or Montpellier. A tour-guide with 4 languages under his belt, he might find his fit too.
Shouldn’t we all find our life’s dream? It’s a funny thing. When we started to tell people that we were moving to France, the first response was one of disbelief. People often wish they could move across the world to a land that they’d visited once and that seemed perfect. France, being the most visited tourist destination in the world, is that place for so many.
The difference is that I happened to have married a man who, no matter what I’ve suggested, as crazy as it may have seemed, has never said as much. He’s always said, “If it’s that important to you, we will make it happen.” And in return I give the same courtesy.
Great opportunities come along often; whether or not you seize them depends on your character. Our family is constantly dreaming, wishing and improving and when something like this worldly adventure presents itself, we jump into it headfirst and make it happen. If we end up back after a few months or ten months or even two years, at least we gave it a try. Better to have loved and lost than never loved at all? Better to have travelled and return than to never travel at all!
So if you think we are dreaming, yes of course we are. If you think we are crazy, maybe so. But if you need a rental apartment in the South of France, give us a call. On the off chance this dream does come true, feel free to visit!
Post and image by Travelling Mom, Eva Hamori of www.ThatsHamori.com.
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