one birthday, two cakes, three friends

 
Between the southern wind and the rainclouds, on Wednesday we celebrated my birthday. Nico had to work in the afternoon. And of course, they were across the Channel. And so, I invited three dear friends round for lunch and afternoon tea. The first will be married later this year. The second will become a maman later this month. The third's husband will be invested as our new mayor later this week. Exciting times on the horizon.

By noon, the sun had come out. We opened the French doors and decorated the table with spring flowers and smooth stones gathered from the river beds. 

Jessie arrived, sporting a new hand-sewn dress. She was closely followed by Sïan. We ate lunch together before packing up the cakes to head down to Argèles. Ali is due any day now and didn't feel up to the long drive up the gorges to our village on her own. So we took the birthday cakes to her instead.

Nico and Jessie had made the cakes. Ali made the tea. We three friends sat on the sofa. We ate slices of cake in startling numbers whilst sipping hot tea out of large mugs. We shared stories and talked about weddings and babies, the good things and the hard things about life abroad. An abundance of cake and tea in the right company soothes and comforts, as well as celebrates.

Making a new life in this foreign land was relatively pain free for me. Making new friends in said foreign land, was not quite so easy. And yet this afternoon spent in the company of these women made me realise just how far I have actually come. How lucky I feel to have friends such as these, that somehow in this back of beyond place, we've found each other. That in this relatively short space of time, we have become so close. Almost like sisters.

This is what we did for my birthday. What a happy day.