I spent some wonderful September days in the south of France with my sister Daphne, celebrating her birthday in Provence and the Côte d’Azur.
Here we are on the Pont d’Avignon (no dancing)
and me in St. Tropez.
Good weather, great food, and thank goodness for GPS or we’d still be lost in the hill towns above Nice and Cannes, where our 2nd Airbnb was located amongst the ups and downs and hairpin turns that characterize the region. Kudos to my sis who drove the stick-shift Peugeot as far as Monaco!
In early April, I spent a lovely 10 days with my daughter Jen and her husband Tim in Oxford and Paris. Jen, founder and CEO of Code for America, was invited back to the Skoll World Forum in Oxford (she won an award last year; this year Nancy Lublin was honored for founding Crisis Text: brava, Nancy!) While Jen was busy with Forum activities, Tim and I explored the colleges, museums, and parks of Oxford. We took a day trip to Bath, where we toured the Roman baths, the cathedral, and the famous Pump Room. On to Paris via the Eurostar train through the Chunnel (sure beats the boat!). Jen and Tim left for California early Monday morning, but I had given myself an extra day in Paris. That night I watched Notre Dame burn from my 6th floor hotel room at 1, Quai St. Michel – an experience I will never forget and wish had never happened. I joined the throngs of Parisians Tuesday morning who lined the banks of the Seine and marveled at what had survived as we mourned what had been lost. Very kind locals who were able to comprehend some of my rudimentary French helped me navigate my way to Orly for my flight home, after I discovered the St. Michel AND the Chatelet RER C stations were closed. Quite an adventure!
Barbara at the Roman baths, Bath
Incorrigible.
I hope you all had a wonderful and not-too-stressful holiday time with family, friends, and good food – I sure did! I loved getting all your holiday cards with family photos – it’s great to see the babies become big kids and the parents appear just a little less tired and a little less uncertain as the years go by. I gotta tell you, it is a wonderful thing not to be tired all the time, and I hope you live long enough to enjoy it, as I am now. It was totally worth it, as a parent and as a midwife, but my constant refrain for half a century (my older daughter is 50 for Pete’s sake!) was “someday.” Have faith – “someday” has come for me, so hang in there. Maybe you, too, will be able to buy a half-price ticket to a Broadway matinee at the TKTS booth, go to the gym, grab a bite for lunch, then take in the play; or spend a day poking around museums or galleries. Leisurely lunches with friends = not a fantasy. Stay healthy so you can!
Good genes help – see below in the right of the photo my 94-year-old Dad. He just hand-built an oak cradle for my niece’s baby, due any day. This is just some of the family in Tulsa; my daughter and granddaughter who live 2 hours away in Arkansas (kneeling on the floor below my dad) had brought me back from their house, where I spent a day with them and my grandson (not pictured). My younger daughter and her family were with other relatives in Colorado, but I got to see both my sisters and their kids and grandkids too.
Glad to be back in NYC for the New Year, and to keep in touch with clients whom I can help. Always available by text, phone (917-686-5309) or email ([email protected]). Stay in touch!
CBS Midwifery was established in 1982. The last delivery was the 3,711th, on May 16, 2018.