"Enjoy the little things in life. For one day you will look back and realize that they were the big things." ~ Anonymous

I was on a bit of a retreat last week.  A good friend of my host-mom, Marie, offered to take Cassandra and I into her home for a week for a change of scenery...  And to get us out of our host-family's hair for  a little while.  :)  So Sunday before last, I was unpacking my suitcase for a week's stay in my new home.

Living at Marie's... was like having a hotel, all to myself.  My bedroom were equipped with it's own bathroom and television, laundry was done for me every day, and I enjoyed full access to the most expansive tea collection I've ever come across. (Orange Infusion was surprisingly tasty.)  And our hosts were so much fun; they love to tell stories.  Dinner was a near two-hour affair every night, with Marie, Carlos, Cassandra and I sitting around the table talking long after we finished eating.  

So yeah, basically living it up in the lap of luxury for a week.

But here's the thing: despite having had an AWESOME week, I was not at all disappointed to be returning to my regular host-family.  But it was only when I got back that I realized how much I love being here.  I love the Sunday mornings when there's always fresh bread and we all eat breakfast together.  I love my room, especially the compactness of it - my room at Marie's was beautiful, but too big.  I love riding home on the back of Marcello's scooter after school and the intense Wii sessions with Alessandro (we finally completed Super Mario Smash Bros. Brawl at 11pm evening before last.)

We've all heard the sayings "Live each day as if it's your last", and "Savour the small things in life".  But it was not until I came to France that I really understood the importance of these words.  With only 10 months to live the adventure of one's young life, one cannot help but live in the moment and enjoy it to the fullest, or else risk waking up one day and wondering where the time has gone.

And it is with this mindset that something miraculous has happened: I have started finding everything worthy of celebration.  Enjoying a coffee with a friend at school became as much a highlight as touring Mt St Michel for the first time; a single shell on the beach became as breathtakingly beautiful as the sun setting over the ocean before it. 

In the end, life is not about saying you've been to the top of the Eiffel tower.  It's about enjoying the climb.