Wilson Paula's story :
I’m almost 70 years old. I’m not exactly sure how I got here, but like all of us at this age, I’ve survived the ups and downs of life, and 15 years ago, surprisingly enough, I discovered the love of my life. Not only that, but nine years ago, we made the momentous decision to leave my lifelong home of New Orleans and set off on an adventure together: to move to France. Did we speak French? Passably, enough to order off a menu in Paris. Could we learn French, at our age? It turns out, that’s going to take some time. But we did learn enough to pass the B1 language exam, and to apply for French citizenship. (Still waiting for that, but that’s a story for another day.)
We’ve spent the past nine years traveling around Europe, Asia and Australia, and it’s always been a compelling treat to come home to our snug little cottage in the French countryside, where our two cats roam our neighbors’ gardens, nestle in front of the fire, and snuggle into bed with us at night. It’s truly an idyllic life, full of love and laughter and deep, abiding friendships.
And then came Wilson.
I have never had my life upended like this. Well, all right, those of you who know I lost my home and my community in Hurricane Katrina in 2005 might wonder if that particular upending of my life might have been a bit harder to bear than welcoming a new puppy into our home and our lives. I have been trying to figure out why this feels harder.
During Katrina, and the years-long aftermath, I was working as a journalist at the local daily newspaper, and it was that work that kept me going; the sacred duty to gather and produce information that could and did help a community knit itself back together after such a vast tragedy. The long days and nights of editing stories and photos and graphics gave my confused and chaotic life at that time a purpose, and kept me going, though months of uncertainty about the future.
Fast-forward ten years, and the move to France brought new challenges, of course. Joining a new community (of French-speakers!), making new friends, traveling across Europe, finding French doctors, navigating the French bureaucracy … not to mention the challenges of Covid, with the lockdown, the washing of groceries (remember that?), the isolation from friends and family, the inability to travel …
But I am like a cat in that I am very much a creature of routine. As much as I love to travel to new places and experience new environments and discover new things, I am happy to come home and pick back up my life of friends, and reading, and bike rides, and crossword puzzles, and walks, and sunsets, and aperos, and movies in front of the fire at night with a cat or two nearby. It’s a quiet life of contentment and warmth and intimacy.
And into that quiet life came Wilson.
He’s a cute little guy, full of energy and affection. But right now, he is a sucking hole of need: the need to pee, the need to poop, the need to play. And if my timing is off, or if I don’t correctly read the signals, he pees on my floor! (Like he did as I was writing this.) I’ve never had a child, and kittens are nowhere near this much work, so this constant state of alertness is new to me. Was this what I envisioned when I dreamed of a life in France in my dotage? Not exactly. But when I look at James, and I see how happy he is to have a dog again after eight years without one, all I can do is put on my big girl panties and embrace change. Change, thy name is Wilson. Who’s a good dog??
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Jackie's story
She had never been to heaven.
She arrived in front of the golden gates in all their glory a shining paradise
There was God in his sparkling white robes long hair and beard looking exactly as she had imagined him to be.
A shining halo around his head she kneeled in front of him and said here I am God I’ve left the earth and I’m here to do whatever you want me to do now.
And he said well before you commit to entering the gates of paradise you can make one more request to do something that you wished you had done while on earth Oh she said let me think for a minute. “I’ve never been able to sing I should like to go back to earth as a famous singer something that I so admire. The emotion of music is something exceptional “
She landed on earth as a baby and began to sing at a very early age had loving parents but who were very poor and slowly but surely she worked herself up to become a well known singer surprising everybody with her beautiful voice and personality Able to buy a house for her parents and diamonds for herself and all the things she had never had in her previous life.
She had maids and butlers and a chauffeur and a cook. Becoming more and more famous
Then one day she realized that she wasn’t any happier than her life was all materialistic; its true that she enjoyed singing but it wasn’t as gratifying as she had imagined.
At the age of 30 she started to beg the Lord I want to go back to heaven life is very trivial. The Lord said “no you must live until the age of 86 and make the best of this life.” “ Another 50 years of living this life of luxury and money and houses three boats and 40 people looking after me –and I can’t go to the supermarket without hoards of people asking for autographs people touch me and my hair and clothes – uuuhhh “
So God said “You asked for a gift,”.
“But you forgot to ask for meaning.”
“you must discover why you were given this voice—not just for yourself, but for others. Being a diva was never the destination.” there Is only one way for you to overcome this and that is to do a good deed and make it work and then I’ll call you back. _ A little girl came up to her and said I’ve never been able to sing will you teach me
So there began many months and years of training until this little girl grew up and became as famous as herself
She was now free to return … I’d never been to heaven and now I’ve been twice
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Geraldine's story
I’VE NEVER…
I’ve never walked on the moon although I have so often been in the moon !
I was in the moon at school when I didn’t like a subject or a teacher. And where would I travel ! Not in the moon cause in those days there was no way to imagine that one could reach the moon and step on it. Despite the fact that the Russians (USSR) had launched a small sattelite named « Spoutnik » that I saw in 1958 at the Brussels’ International Exhibition and had found extremely small !
I would think I was a bird, just flying all over different places and countries in what I imagined pure freedom. Not depending on a schoolbus, or a bicycle or a tram or even just my little feet ! I could cross the, Mediterrean Sea and have my first stop in Tunisia untill a harsh voice would bring me back to my desk and the school pall sitting next to me.
I would imagine I was an adult, not having to ask permission to do the things I liked. If I felt like swimming, I could just decide to go, if I felt like going for a walk in the forest, I could take a moped or a car and just do it, if I was invited to a party, I could stay later than midnight and not fear my Dad coming to pick me up at midnight like Cinderella !
I would go and visit all the places that where shown to us in the Conferences called « Exploration du Monde » where I used to go with my sister. During a boring math’s course, what a kick to think of the « Girafe Women » in a small Indonesian Island who wore so many necklaces that if they took them off, they would break their necks or die ! Or the Abu Simbel barrage being constructed in Egypt, on the Nil, removing the huge statues to another place, or imagining hiding in the African forest to get a glimpse at the smallest people around : the pygmees !
I have never written a book ! But I’ve written so many in my mind. I even started one a long time ago and in the 3 first pages, I managed to set an action on the « Quai du Point du Jour », just because I found the name of that place so dratmatically open to anything following, but nothing came…
I’ve never painted a sunset although I’ve tried painting at different times in my life. Does this mean I’ll never paint a sunset. I don’t know…. I even think that as I’ve mentionned this, I might pick up the challenge and try one day. Meanwhile, I have so many bad photos of sunsets, that I could pick one and try to translate it into a painting.
Are these « nevers » unfinished beginnings. Will they come to one day ? Why and when ?
If I think of my youth and all the things I had never done in those days, I figure I’ve filled in quite a few of my dreams and wishes.
When I was twenty, my dream was to live in France, in Paris. I did it.
When I was 30, my dream was to have 6 children ! I had 3 and stopped when I understood more would be too hard !
When I was 40, my dream was to set out a house full of children, it’s garden, a few animals, learn how all this was manageable. It happened.
When I was 50, I thought it was time to deepen my professional life, take more responsibilities, improve my skills and use them to improve my career. Done.
When I was 60 , we decided to travel for many years in a sailing boat, around the Mediterranean discovering the cradle of Europe, the different civilizations around it, what it means to come accross a storm at sea or to get stuck for hours with no wind before docking. It was great !
When I was 70, I got to know 10 little toddlers who gave me and still do so much love, interest and joy : these are my grand’children who are now becoming adults and who knows, filling the gaps of their own « I’ve never «
But I would never have thought that so many « I’ve never » would come true. Does all this sound pretentious ? I don’t really know. With all my « I’ve never » and all the achievements, I feel I am, to-day, a fulfilled and happy woman
