This morning I had the pleasure of bringing fresh, hot croissants, chocolate croissants, and French baguettes to my son's middle school. Although he is enrolled in a Spanish class this year (and don't even get me started... I have nothing against him learning Spanish, but my first love is -- I know, it's a total shocker -- French. But his advanced math class and the only French class were scheduled at the exact same time... and guess which one got the boot?) Anyhow, I digress. So earlier this year at Back to School night I went and told my tale of woe to the French teacher and somehow these words came out of my mouth. "If you ever need anything, I am happy to help you!" Fastforward a couple of months, and I got an email a few weeks ago asking if I would mind helping out with French Club and their annual Christmas breakfast. "Sure! No problem at all!" I said... until I saw the time. "Please be at Giant Food at 6:30 a.m. so that you can get to the school by 6:45. We will set up and the kids will start arriving at 7." EEEK. Anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a morning person. But... I already promised. Plus, she said I'd be able to speak some French with the kids. So...
This morning I was somehow able to get out of bed rather easily at 6:00 a.m. Okay, yes, I did grab a rather large coffee with -- get this, FRENCH VANILLA--- hahahaha, ahem. Then I grabbed my Clarity essential oil and took a few good sniffs for good measure. And God bless Sebastian. He really was a good sport. This isn't even his gig, and he was willing to get up and out at o'dark thirty! We got to Giant fully expecting to wait at the bakery and whine for them to please get their ovens on, pastries warmed, and quick, out the door rather quickly. Huge surprise -- and the good kind! My new friend, Peggy, who works the morning shift at the bakery was not only on time, she was ahead of the game. She already had my cart packed... Beautiful steaming chocolate croissants and oh-how-can-you-resist Baguettes all ready to be transported... And by 6:59 Seb and I were walking through the front doors of the school!
I know, I am a complete language geek. So ask me how happy I was to come through the doors of the classroom where the teacher had put 4 desks together and had red tablecloths with flowers on each of the "cafe tables" in the rom. Honestly, I could have kissed her! The water was boiling for Cafe Francais and chocolat chaud (that's without the mini marshmellows because the French do NOT go for that sort of thing in their morning drink.) The jams I had gotten -- abricot and , bien sur, cassis -- were mouthwateringly perfect for the croissants or baguette. The students were hilarious. The looks on their faces when I was asking them what they'd like..... "Bonjour! Comment ca-va? Est-ce que tu veux un croissant ou un petit pain au chocolat? Ou peut-etre un peu de baguette avec la confiture?" Yup, horrified. But I did have one girl with a huge, proud smile on her face after she offered a "BONJOUR!" and a "MERCI" after grabbing her mini croissant.
Of all the memories I have of my older statesman's middle school years, this is the one I could most relate to. My son, thanks for humoring your old mother today. There are times when almost 30 years have gone by in a blink and today was one of them.
This morning I was somehow able to get out of bed rather easily at 6:00 a.m. Okay, yes, I did grab a rather large coffee with -- get this, FRENCH VANILLA--- hahahaha, ahem. Then I grabbed my Clarity essential oil and took a few good sniffs for good measure. And God bless Sebastian. He really was a good sport. This isn't even his gig, and he was willing to get up and out at o'dark thirty! We got to Giant fully expecting to wait at the bakery and whine for them to please get their ovens on, pastries warmed, and quick, out the door rather quickly. Huge surprise -- and the good kind! My new friend, Peggy, who works the morning shift at the bakery was not only on time, she was ahead of the game. She already had my cart packed... Beautiful steaming chocolate croissants and oh-how-can-you-resist Baguettes all ready to be transported... And by 6:59 Seb and I were walking through the front doors of the school!
I know, I am a complete language geek. So ask me how happy I was to come through the doors of the classroom where the teacher had put 4 desks together and had red tablecloths with flowers on each of the "cafe tables" in the rom. Honestly, I could have kissed her! The water was boiling for Cafe Francais and chocolat chaud (that's without the mini marshmellows because the French do NOT go for that sort of thing in their morning drink.) The jams I had gotten -- abricot and , bien sur, cassis -- were mouthwateringly perfect for the croissants or baguette. The students were hilarious. The looks on their faces when I was asking them what they'd like..... "Bonjour! Comment ca-va? Est-ce que tu veux un croissant ou un petit pain au chocolat? Ou peut-etre un peu de baguette avec la confiture?" Yup, horrified. But I did have one girl with a huge, proud smile on her face after she offered a "BONJOUR!" and a "MERCI" after grabbing her mini croissant.
Of all the memories I have of my older statesman's middle school years, this is the one I could most relate to. My son, thanks for humoring your old mother today. There are times when almost 30 years have gone by in a blink and today was one of them.