For Mother’s
Day, my sons surprised me with brunch at Jean-Claude’s Table, a créperie on Wharf
Street in the Old Port which I didn’t even know existed. I work downtown and walk through the Old Port
at least weekly and yet I had never seen this tiny bistro with small tables
atop the cobblestone of this ancient back street which runs parallel to Fore
Street. Not knowing it made their
surprise even more special. That they sought
out the perfect place for me meant everything.
Being ever the
romantic and having visited Paris at 21, where créperies lined street corners like hot dog
stands do in our cities, I fell in love with all things French – Chanel suits,
Lancôme cosmetics, the architecture, the beautiful language, Creuset cookware,
and cheese…mon dieu, the cheese!
Slightly burned out at mid-life, what I’d give to run away to a little
French village and run a patisserie, using my hands for the rest of my life and
not my head!
Anyway, I
digress (as I tend to do). My thoughts
just free fall.
I realized at
brunch that it is a WONDERFUL thing to have things you love and passions, to be
known to those who love you. Because,
the pride my sons felt in choosing that bistro equaled the joy I received in
the gift. There was as much pleasure to
the giver as the receiver because they were proud to have selected so well what
I would love. They felt successful when
seeing how happy I was. They couldn’t
have experienced that if I didn’t have things I love….and let those things be
known. I’ve had people in my life with
seemingly no hobbies, no known passions, no favorite food or restaurant or
place in the world. It’s challenging to
please them and certainly buy them a gift.
Make your loves
known….and do love whatever matters to you – the color pink, picnics on lakes,
shoes, pedicures, lavender oil, the smell of freshly mowed grass, art, bubble
bath that smells like mango, French cheese!
What it is doesn’t matter. What
matters is that it pleases YOU….and your pleasure will become contagious for
others when they witness your joy.
