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| The sun came out but it was still quite cold. |
Waking Zoe up on my own this morning went without a hitch. I’d gone to sleep late the night before, so after dropping Zoe off, I went home and chilled. We had pasta for lunch and I managed to get Zoe to eat peas - no mean feat, so I have every right to be proud! When Zoe had gone back to school, I walked to Cully in search of tickets for her school play. Valerie was worried she wasn't going to have time to get them, so I offered. She (vaguely) told me where to go and gave me the money and the school letter stating where they were being sold. Apparently it’s too easy to sell them at the school… I went on the hunt for either L’epicerie Le Petit Panier (the grocers) or Le Kiosque Le Minaret… I wandered around for a while before spotting a grocery store; and it had the poster advertising the show in the window! Alas, it was the wrong grocery store, so between her broken English and my lack of French, the shopkeeper tried to point me in the direction of the other grocers. I thanked her and confidently walked off, before realising I still didn't have a clue where I was going. I circled the village and came upon a building that looked like a ticket office and in the window were posters for the school play. (I later these posters are EVERYWHERE) As soon as I asked, it dawned on me that I was in entirely the wrong place again. The people in there pointed me in the direction of the ‘kiosque,’ but again after 20 minutes of fruitless searching, I gave up. Instead, I headed to my favourite spot in Cully: A park that sits right on the lake. I’d already planned in advance to sit here and have a sneaky cigarette. The family despise smoking, and I was willing to stop while I was here, but I have some with me and I hate waste… It was, without a doubt, the best cigarette I've ever smoked, looking across the lake where the clouds had cleared and the snowy Alps were in full view. I sat there for a long while, writing and staring at the scenery. I also dipped my feet into the lake for the first time, but it was so cold, I wouldn't describe it as pleasant.
Soon it was time for me to leave; I bought stamps from the post office (expect some post back at home!) and tried again to find somewhere that sells the tickets for the play. It didn't take long for me to think “fuck it,” and I went to pick up Zoe.
She was really tired after school, so I agreed that we could watch a film (Madagascar 3 - great film!) Halfway through, I made dinner. I walked out of the room at one point, and when I came back, I caught Zoe stood on the kitchen counter. She’d tried to get down before I saw, but it was too late. I didn't shout, but I raised my voice - “Zoe, that’s not allowed.” I gently chastised her, saying how she knew it wasn't allowed, otherwise she wouldn't have tried to hide what she was doing. She sat at the kitchen table and hid her face with her hair. I didn't realise straight away, but she was crying. Now, despite my experience with children through years of work and au-pairing, I still don’t actually deal well with crying children. Especially when it’s my fault. I apologised for making her upset, but explained that what she had done was naughty and unsafe as she could've fallen. Turns out she had hurt herself in her haste to get down, so she understood. I gave her a hug and all was well. When we returned to the film, she snuggled up to me, so I guess I was forgiven. Even though I was in the right, I still worry when kids cry. I feel like I’ll get in trouble with the parents - no one wants to make someone else’s children cry…
Valerie had told me she was going to be late from work, so I had to put Zoe to bed. I cuddled up with her in bed and read a couple of stories before leaving her to sleep. It all went pretty well!
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