It’s been a month since I have updated my blog. There was a good reason: I was busy keeping up with a 17 year old boy! With a few last minute tasks like weighing a suitcase, redistributing contents and checking the house for anything that might be left, Matthieu, the seventeen year old son of Parisian friends, has left the building. How is it possible that a home can be cleared of all traces of someone so quickly? A heart takes awhile longer, and the job isn’t as seamless.

What an amazing time I had with my ‘little buddy.’ We danced, we sang, we played with Bijoux, we ate, we swam, we toured the sights, we played games, ate s’mores and made memories that will never fade.

I have always enjoyed seeing and visiting with Matthieu in his Paris home, but I had no idea how similar we are. We danced while putting the dishes away. We sang to songs, French and English, together. I guess our theme song in English would have to be, “Young, Dumb and Broke….High School Kids.” Matthieu introduced it to me and I explained the meaning of it to him, so, after that, we’d sing it together and laugh. One of us could sing the tune to the Tomahawk Chop and we’d both make the motions. I learned that his “just five minutes” should never be believed. To him, “five minutes” equal up to a half hour. He says it’s in French time.

Matthieu is very confident and outgoing. He can go with the flow. I’m that way, too, so it was a better match than I’d dreamed. I explained to Matthieu how all of us have souls that are forever young, set for Eternity, but that, as we age, the mirror presents a challenge we must overcome. Do we believe what we feel inside or what we see outside? This past month, I believed what was inside my soul. The young Marilee got a chance to come out to play….with the older Marilee occasionally having to remind her to pace herself, by aches and pains here and there.

Matthieu has become another grandson. Not surprising at all. I latch onto kids at the speed of sound. I always have. I have three children plus a bonus Russian son. I have five godchildren. I was put on the list to become a parent to three children if their parents should die. I have nine grandchildren who mean the world to me.

My Russian son now lives and works in Paris, France. Matthieu lives there, too. A part of my heart now lives there, so, when France hurts, I hurt. I know that, after this visit, Matthieu, too, will feel an attachment to the US, too.

In a month, I taught him what I could. He came, not liking sweet tea. The day he left? He ordered iced tea but it wasn’t sweet so he added a bunch of honey to it. He had come a long way in becoming Southern. If he stayed, I would have put him on a baseball team, without a doubt. He picked up knowledge of the game faster than any foreign person I have ever seen.

There we so many things people appreciated about Matthieu here in the States. His manners were impressive. I must remember to school my grandsons! He was always open to new experiences. “If you want” became his go to expression. He spent a half day in a local high school. It was no surprise when he came home saying he’d exchanged some phone numbers and also got invited to a football game. Everyone from my friends and neighbors to the salespeople fell in love with him. He’d have no trouble staying in the States for free. Everywhere he went, people offered him their spare rooms!

(I just want to take a minute to say that Georgia came through amazingly as a host to Matthieu. They put on the Southern Hospitality…and it wasn’t because they knew he was French. They did it even before he spoke. At the Atlanta Braves game, we were given free cokes at the bar. We were given a friendly welcome everywhere we went. We were given things for free, greeted warmly, and it truly touched Matthieu’s heart. Thanks, people of Georgia!)

Now, my home is empty of all traces of Matthieu. Did I dream the visit? I have invited a neighbor over to play games tonight to help fill the void. Tomorrow, I will join a group of friends for a movie, and, Saturday, I will go to an outdoor symphony. As a sixty-six year old woman, I know all about being left behind, by my husband, my kids, visiting grandchildren, etc. I know for the first day I must plan something to fill that empty feeling. I have done so and will focus on my blessings. A nap is in order!

Planning for a visit can be a challenge. Working a new person into your life can take some effort, but, if they are the best kind of guest, the hardest work comes when they walk out the door to return to their home.

Matthieu was one of those.