Growing Up is about Spelling Your Name

ABC

Yesterday, afternoon while we were preparing Sunday lunch at La Madone a
spilled box of alphabet pasta brought a flood of memories to the
surface. Don't you just love when out of the blue something comes and taps you on your shoulder bringing you a memory that causes you to stop and smile?

The alphabet pasta spilled on the floor, it was an accident that reminded me of my Mother.
She made chores into a game. Spilled milk was after all was not a big deal when we were taught that cleaning it up is far more fun than crying about it.

ABC-floor

Cleaning up… The Game… Spell your name.

Name-game

Raphael, (Nathalie and Jean Bernard's youngest son, and the child I want to claim as my own, but they won't hear of it!) is four years old. Aren't chubby hands edible?

Letters

Old-floor

Concentration.

Name

Raphael-angel

On a snowy day a box of spilled pasta spells out a memory as warm as any hug.



Comments

12 responses to “Growing Up is about Spelling Your Name”

  1. Katiebell

    gorgeous Corey! I was just wondering if you were STILL in bed with beautiful French Husband!?! (wouldn’t blame you)
    Send me some snow please – I’m melting!

  2. jend’isère

    Signing my name was the requirement to have a library card. I remember practicing to earn the card, which I kept with pride.

  3. Julie Ann

    Glad you are up ! That Raphael is aptly named, he truly looks like an angel. I wanted to take him also and Nathalie threatened him that we would. Unfortunately (only for me) he wasn’t having any of it and wanted to remain at La Madone. Cannot think why ?! Luv Jxx

  4. Alphabet soup was like that for me as a child. Trying to spell out words in my soup was so much fun. Oh I would love to see a picture of Raphael, he is a cutie.

  5. What a lovely memory! I of course cried over spilled milk, or anything for that matter for years. I was afraid I would get in trouble, then one of my parents (usually my father) got angry because I was crying- oh the drama of a vicious cycle! Finally when I became a waitress I got over anything that spilled or made a mess.

  6. All children’s hands are scrumptious! I always think of all the good things those chubby little hands will do in life.
    I was surprised at the thought of snow in the South of France. For some reason I have a different picture.

  7. This is especially for anyone else who grew up in the SF Bay Area: Along similar lines, when I was little we listened to radio a lot at home. One day when I was about 4 and we were visiting a relative’s house, one of my uncles asked me if I knew my address.
    To everyone’s mortification, I promptly replied, “Number Nine Fisherman’s Wharf!”
    Since clearly I’d been influenced by the commercials for the restaurant that I’d heard on the radio, my mother decided it was high time to have me memorize my home address (and phone number) in case of an emergency. Soon after she taught me to read, and had me memorize the names of all the streets in order for a mile in each direction of our house. That way, in case I ever wandered away from our immediate neighborhood I could read the street-signs (all in capital letters) and know exactly where I was in relation to home.

  8. what a fantastic name for a child! and from what you say, a perfect name for this little one 🙂

  9. Does French alphabet pasta come with accent marks? Comme le petit l’accent circonflexe?

  10. Ahh, I have very fond memories of playing with alphabet pasta as a child. My brother and I used to cover the rim of our soup plates with all sorts of words.

  11. Bravo! Great Job, Raphael!
    Spill them again!

  12. one of my family’s favorite snowy day memories is another snowfall in Provence sometime in the early 90’s. we drove over for a long weekend from Madrid and stayed with friends – enjoying their wonderful fireplace, warm soup and crusty bread. my kids had seen so little snow growing up in Spain that it is a memory they’ll never forget. nice to know it is still happening to someone else…

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