Change of Weather, Change of Pace

Autumnal equinox! We have now entered my favorite season of the year, and blogging has never felt more justified. Not that there’s anything else I could do anyway, seeing as I’m currently plagued with a nasty cold (in typical Sophie fashion).

I hate Sundays; I always have hated Sundays, and I always will hate Sundays. They’re always sunny, bright, and happy–as if Monday weren’t just around the corner. Fall Sundays are particularly beautiful: the way the morning air smells, the way the golden afternoon sun hits the leaves attached the branches gently swaying in the breeze, the carefree giggles of the children playing outside, the sense of zen that surrounds the house… It’s on days like these that I like to remember my younger years, when I was still in school in France. I remember leaving at 7:30 in the morning to get to school at 8. I remember stopping by the little pastry shop to get a pain au chocolat for five francs. I remember lining up two by two in the school’s playground, waiting for our teachers to lead us to class. I remember, I remember so much more.

I get nostalgic once in a while–probably more than I should, or more than is healthy. I long for those days that seem to be so far behind me. I long for the days when I borrowed five or more books from the library every Wednesday afternoon. I long for the days when my friends and I sat outside to talk for hours after school. I long for the days when my only worries were how to memorize the Beatles song we had to sing in class that week and getting to class on time. I long for much, too much that I know I won’t ever get back.

The main–and permanent–disadvantage of renovation is just that; goodbye old, hello new. It’s especially true nowadays, when “renovation” actually means “complete makeover.” I miss my old middle school, which is now practically unrecognizable. What was once an old, weathered facility with high ceilings and shaky stairways has now become a bulky, sleek, modern institution.

Le Collège Louis Pasteur. How I miss the echoes in your corridors.