Homework: First Impressions

So, I'm supposed to write a short essay, in French, describing some things that have struck me about moving to France.  I thought that I'd write it in English, then translate it into French.  Perhaps this might be of interest to some of you who are "listening in", so here goes!

Dear Friend,

     Well, I arrived in France on August 29th, after a dizzying spanning four countries.  I decided to go to the "Centre Ville" [downtown] to do some sightseeing.  Imagine my surprise as I noticed that many dog owners do not keep their beloved pets on a leash, but allow them to walk freely.  Even more amazing is the fact that not only do these dogs walk alongside their owners, but they will wait outside stores, untied, for the owner to complete their shopping!  If only I could teach such discipline to my children, I would be quite proud of my parenting skills!

     You will be happy to know that we are happily installed in a two-bedroom apartment that is surprisingly spacious, and that our older children are enjoying their first foray into the life of a public school student, while our baby is usually enjoying spending her days in the nursery.  I will call you on Skype this weekend, best wishes,

Hudson

Finding my muse.

Hello, gentle reader, and welcome to my digital Moleskine.  I am not sure how well this will work, since I am a husband, a father of five very active kids, and a full-time student (along with said wife) in an intensive language school program in France.  However, that being said, somebody asked me recently if I will be keeping a blog, which sounds like just another thing to me, but after some consideration I decided to give it a shot.  The thing that sold me on the concept was an internal argument that I lost (won?).  This is not to be confused with the shower argument, which is against another, real, and (thankfully) not present opponent, whose weak logic and base manners I demolish in between lathering and rinsing.

Anyway.

The internal argument consisted mostly of party #1 (me) arguing against party #2 (myself) in regards to this blog concept.

Me:  I. Have. No. Time.
Myself:  Maybe that's why you need to do it.
Me:  You're a terrible debater.
Myself:  Want to take this to the showers?  I'll mop the floor with you.
Me:  Whatever man.
Myself:  So you have time for this, but not a blog.
Me:  Hey, I'm pulling the God card.  I don't have time for consistent devos, let alone some glorified Twitter account!
Myself:  Maybe a blog would help you actually reflect on what God's doing in your life.
Me: ...

So there you have it, and now I have a blog!  Feel free to ask any questions that you'd like me to mull over, whether it be about life in Europe, parenting, electric guitar, piano, computer games, video editing, spiritual formation, etc.  I really try to consider the questions that people ask me, which is of course why we're having this (so far) one-sided conversation.  More thoughts to come, may God bless and keep you!

In His grip,
Hudson