The Last Saturday
Just thought I would let you all know that on my last Saturday night in Paris I, the 19 year old blonde with a pretty decent social life and living in one of the most romantic cities in the world, shared my bed with a seven year old, a nine year old and about 7 cuddly toys.
The end of my year here has been pretty fitting so far. I was babysitting all weekend – let me just clarify, all day every day – and I was running around the city trying to see as much as possible with two little smurfs in toe.
Friday night saw me watching Mamma Mia with the seven-year-old boy whilst munching on Oreos followed by me getting so into my book that I finally stumbled into bed at about 2am. When he jumped on me at 6am, I was surprisingly chirpy.
We then trekked to suburbia with the nine year old for her ballet class, after sanitising hands and promising they would survive, I managed to bundle them into the metro and make my way through the streets in 32-degree heat. In true au pair style I was armed with tissues and bottles of water, they came in very handy when the seven year old needed an emergency number 2 stop. And people say au pairing can be dull?!
We then spent the afternoon in a park in the seventeenth running in and out of fountains, munching on sugary ice creams and attacking pigeons. By the time we headed home, they were exhausted, having been made to walk “miles and miles” but yet within the hour, we had transformed ourselves into gourmet pizza chefs. With our packet of 1, 55€ instant pizza base mix, we giggled our way round the kitchen covered in flour and tomato paste. Half an hour later, the world’s most mighty pizzas appeared and another night with a good film ensued.
Much to my surprise, they suggested it was bedtime, trundled down my stairs and clambered into my bed. I could not help but smile when I saw their little faces peeking out from under the covers, and I nearly melted when ten minutes later they were both fast asleep. Snoring even.
Sunday we got up, got dressed, and got ready to picnic. We made more sandwiches than you can imagine and filled our hamper with delicious snacks and treats. After a bit more sanitising, we hopped on the bus and headed back to the “park of fun.” Between Uno competitions and water fights, we managed to catch a few rays and even have a little siesta.
As I sit here and type, not only does my bed feel empty but I worry that when I leave in two days, my life may feel a little empty too. Yes I am leaving friends and a city that I love, but I am also leaving two little people who I am very close to and whose lives I have come into in a big way this last year. I will miss the cheeky laughter, the moments of pure childish genius and even the harder moments when I have to make important decisions about the day-to-day lessons I have to try to impart on them.
I will miss Alfred and I will miss Rose.
