A summer sunny day makes shrinks go away

07/10/05

This is the second or third complete sunny day after my arrival here 10 days ago. During the first few cloudy days, I would look forward to the appearance of sunshine with firm faith. It’s summer time and sunshine is synonymous with the season. In the end I grew so tired mentally that I just gave up hoping. After all, summer in Normandy is one thousand times better than winter, which can send an optimistic person like me to the end of the world.

It’s not hard to find things in common shared by people from different places. In the past and even now, Taiwanese say “Have you eaten?” as a way of greeting or commencing a small talk. Between Annick and people, it’s pretty much about the temperature of the day. She keeps a thermometer on the windowsill. She would report to me the weather conditions dutifully, accompanied by distinct facial expressions. Before today, it was usually with a slight frown. I guess she longed for a sunny day as much as I did. It’s funny that Mom complained about the killing heat at home. Are we really never satisfied or God really doesn’t treat us fair?

This noon while I was busy cooking in the kitchen, Annick came in panting. She commented on the sunshine outside with twinkles in her eyes. “Oh là là, it’s hot in the car.” I thought I had got the wrong word because a few days ago we were still curling in our car seats because the cool air was too intimidating. I rushed to the window in the attempt of proving if my ears were still ok. I was happily surprised to be greeted by the warm sunlight. Like French people, the French sun isn’t too willing to do its job, but it’s reassuring to know that the sun does exist.

The merry atmosphere permeated the air and even our whole beings. We had a pleasant meal by the window. In the afternoon, we left the windows of the bedroom wide open. I read, basked in the thought of lovely sunshine that stayed with us. Flies danced around, but we didn’t care. Who would mind as long as it is a beautiful summer day?

In the evening, the sunshine lingered, with a more tender tone of color. The neighbors opened their windows to profit from the remaining day. This is the first time I got to see their faces. The loud crying sounds of babies was heard more clearly than ever, but it didn’t spoil our good moods. Rather, on a Sunday evening, it was relaxing to see people so at ease, not bothered by the idea of the working week to come, by the noise or by the flies. Only a wonderful summer day is capable of bringing out the calm in us...

OK, maybe I cheated a little bit to create such a beautiful illusion. It’s also summer vacation time...