Photo courtesy Lulu Mc DowellWhen we were burgled this year on January 3rd, there was a sense that something had shifted in a house that had hitherto been a place of such joy and safety. This trusting, welcoming home we had openly shared with friends and family was marred and all our conversations seemed to revolve around alarm systems, guard dogs and stronger locks.
Photo courtesy Lulu Mc DowellIt’s an old house in Aix-en-Provence, and renovating it a little at a time, I started to wonder if I had been wise or if I had prioritised the wrong things over the 11 years we’ve lived here, safety never being a particular concern. The key is on a window ledge next to the back door. The gate code is known by every one of the little students who comes here for English lessons on a weekly basis – any of whom could be leading a double life as a cat burglar. I quickly set an appointment with a company and got ready to replace several crumbling shutters, and, once I had set my mind to it, I began to think about using the opportunity for a change of decor. Yet, in spite of all the love and support extended to us from friends far and wide, there was little support when I mentioned this plan.
“You can’t change the blue door!” was the unanimous – and dare I say uninvited – consensus from Moscow to Mumbai, from London to Luxembourg, from Tallinn to Toronto.
Although it made me smile, I really felt that the reaction was a little….how shall I put it ….over the top! But before confirming my personal preference for a new colour, I decided to look back over some of the photos taken in front of that wooden rectangle of almost too typical Provencal blue.
Photo courtesy Lulu Mc DowellWell, how right they all were: That door has been the backdrop to so much!
The fun we’ve had here from the unexpected visit to planned celebrations! The dressing up and the dressing down! The kilos on and the kilos off! The old and the young! The arrivals and the departures! Graduations.. Engagements…even a wedding! And most recently, the lockdowns and the smiles behind masks.
The sum of all the Friendships framed by a not too perfect, slightly lop-sided, not very burglar-proof door.
Photo courtesy Lulu Mc DowellI realised that the burglars might have impacted our sense of security, but only for a very short moment. They took our money, and our jewelry…and clearly we share taste in perfume since that’s gone too… But they didn’t take our sense of humour. They didn’t rob the feeling that this house has been furnished with stories, stocked with jokes or that the most valuable investments were made in culinary feasts and cocktails shared with those we love from near and far.
When our friends and family extended their opinion, I recognised that I have realised a dream: I have a house that feels like home to wonderful people from all over the world. Thanks to the wisdom of crowds (they are rather numerous sometimes) and a belief in democracy, the door stays Blue.
And I look forward to taking many, many, many, more photos for the album.
Written by Lulu Mc Dowell
Lulu Mc Dowell is an educator/mentor/host, living and working in the South of France. Born in Ireland, she left Dublin in 1984. After many years in Luxembourg, she moved with her three children to Aix en Provence and bought a home there in 2009 where she runs a language school. Over 100 children come for weekly lessons, from 4-year-olds learning their first words of English to 17-year-olds applying for universities. Lulu’s life is made immeasurably richer as the students become friends and return to visit from around the world in their adult years.
Week 9, March 2021
