Ma Fleur Rouge

The middlest had his school fête and spectacle last night. Of course I managed to bugger it up in my own way by misunderstanding/forgetting what time to have him there. You see, everything is written and spoken in French here!, and they use what we Americans call 'military time' to boot. You'd think I'd be used to 16h and 18h being 4pm and 6pm because it was the same in Ireland. However, with the added bonus of French I get a bit fussed.

It all turned out alright in the end even though he missed the practice pre-show, because we arrived at what I thought was early making it in time for his performance extraordinaire.


The theme of the spectacle was printemps and all the children were different colored flowers, my son was a fleur rouge...a poppy I suppose. There were three jardiniers who went around watering the seeds (28 children crouched down in rows on the stage) which then grew and grew and grew until they bloomed into beautiful dancing flowers. Dancing flowers who were given carte blanche to perform their best improvisational twists and twirls, wiggles and spins, and even, in the case of my middlest, the robot.
I can tell you with utmost certainty that a better robot has never been witnessed--at least not at a small school in the South of France. He bloomed slowly, rising from his seed crouch after all the others, teasing out every bit of drama until he burst into full height, arms waving in the air, smile on his lovely face, and began to 'robot'. I've never been more proud.
After the spectacle, everyone gathered in the school playground which was set up with food stalls, bouncy castles, and rows of tables and chairs. Parents were asked to help in different ways. I signed up to bring a salad (scary) and we all bought each others' quiche, pizza, salads and cakes. There were even hot dogs á la français...sausages in baguettes, and in true French fashion, Perrier and wine; red, white and pink to drink.
We stayed until after 9pm, or 21h if you prefer, and had a lovely time chatting in a mixed garble of French and English. We even met the mayor. What a welcome!
Ma fille has her fête and spectacle next week and I can't wait to see her performance. I'll let you know how it goes.
bon weekend!