genevieve.malarkey During this crazy time of pandemic, I am trying to find comfort in small things that bring joy. My sweet neighbor dropped off a pot of lavender flowers on my doorstep just to let me know she was thinking of me, at home all day with my two little girls (trying not to go too crazy). This was so touching to me because 1) lavender is my favorite flower/herb (so much so that I tattooed it on my body), and 2) she understands my love of all things French, and it was that much more meaningful that she brought me this particular plant.
My love of lavender can be seen throughout my home. I have a bottle of lavender essential oil next to my bed, so I can put a few drops of it on my pillow at night (try it- it’s heaven to breathe it in when finally relaxing at night). I have a watercolor painting hung on the gallery wall in my living room, which my husband and I purchased in Nice on our pre-children European adventure. I have sachets of lavender in my clothing drawers, and not one but two printed tablecloths from Provence with the typical Provençal lavender design on them (one I bought, and the other a friend who knows me too well brought me from her own trip to Provence).
I have yet to visit the lavender fields of the Luberon, but it is definitely on my bucket list. Though I love northern France with all my heart, I envision my future vacation home being in sunny, dry Provence, amid the lavender fields, sipping ice cold rosé from my covered terrace, soaking in that sunshine before a trip to the village market. This is the happy place I go to in my mind’s eye when I need a mental vacation.
And a mental vacation is about the only kind any of us are getting right now, so I say: “amusez-vous bien!”
-geneviève
