Saturday was Mr. Cheeseland’s big 30th birthday- a milestone that deserved to be celebrated in style, complete with a four-course feast, gifts and plenty of old-age teasing. We spent the afternoon at my in-laws in the Paris suburbs where a crisp layer of white snow covered the grounds and dainty flurries steadily dropped as we drank and dined. A snowball fight helped to digest the salmon & spinach terrine, roast beef, potatoes, cheese, bread, champagne, 3-chocolate cake AND lemon meringue pie which was a gift from Cat of Sugar Daze (I can really only take credit for the baking conversation and meringue piping!).
The afternoon was also an opportunity to see my in-laws before I take off for Philadelphia on Tuesday. This year, I’m going alone and will make up for a lot of lost time. It has been an entire year since I’ve stepped foot on American soil and felt that oddly potent wave of awkwardness – that desire to speak French to everyone I encounter, the uncertainty of how much smiling I really need to do to fit back in, and the sensation of being home without really being “home”. This is the longest I have gone without seeing…
