Lighting a candle..

Prayer Candles, Notre Dam

We arrived home from our trip to France and England on Sunday, I'm still a little jet lagged. However, after having all the experiences we had, and frustration (some of the time) at not being able to write this blog, I feel the need to get back to writing and sharing.

Before we left on our journey, I had the thought I'd be able to blog my way throughout the trip..., well, as things turned out, that idea didn't pan out, and "life" interrupted my plans...

But I must confess, the benefits of writing "A Year Of Finding Love," helped me to enjoy this trip on a richer, deeper, level than I would have had without it... You see, I found myself looking, searching, for the love, the beauty, the good in the things that I saw, and that which I experienced.

Sometimes I laughed, and sometimes I cried, but more often than not, my heart was filled with a kind of special sweetness and joy. And for that I am grateful.

In Paris, I found a richness and depth of love and an ageless beauty which permeates so much of the life and culture there, it quite literally took my breath away. I became a witness to the love, and in the process fell in love with the life blood, history and culture that makes this great city so unique and glorious. (And yes, a resounding YES I want to go back!)

In England, I reconnected with my family, I hadn't seen them in over five years. We are all getting older, and five years is a long time to go without being together. After a few minutes of just filling our eyes with one another's faces and observing the changes that have taken place over missed time, everything relaxed and we all understood how to be together and knew that we could be ourselves, I felt safe. I was in the company of people who had known me all of my life, and it felt great, we were as we'd always been, like pieces of a varied and beautiful jigsaw puzzle, we just "fit" together, it felt right. I found myself asking, how can I let so many years go by without being with these people who are so dear and close to my heart?

I will continue to write about my trip, and will figure out a way to send more than one photograph at a time!

Before I do write again, I just want to "light a prayer candle" for the friends and family that have had challenging illnesses and events happen to them whilst we were gone. Below is a list of your names. Please know that you are in my thoughts, you are in my prayers, you are in my heart.

Roger Gillispie

Diane Gillipsie

Susie Hepworth

Bobbie Brunsen

Brian Gage

Michele's Auntie

Richard and Erin