It was a long winter. Dark and stormy, savagely cold, with an abundance of snow well into April. Renovation fatigue, impatience with the lack of progress and discouragement blew over Lescure like angry blizzards. Cooped up inside, Thomas and I grew irritable and restless. Cabin fever in a château of 24 rooms. Infuriating differences of opinion and in ways of working. Tears, as we projected our shortcomings on each other. Hard words, as we projected our shadow side on “the lazy French”. A winter with a heavy burden to our hearts, leaving our dream on a shaky foothold.

But then, the sight of the first wildflowers!

That very early burst of colour that foretells the coming of spring. Fields of yellow primula, opening their buds of gold. Buttercups and daisies peeping in the morning’s frozen grass. Tender hepatica with blooms in various shades of purple, white and blue. Tree buds that grow to blossom with each ray of sunshine. How they make my heart glow with love, nature showing me that my life is on track despite the harsh winter, when I was doubtful that anything could grow again. So much is going on in nature that we cannot see, and the smallest difference in weather signals new growth.

So, here I amble down the path of wabi sabi again, learning to trust the natural order of things. The joys of the sunny months are to come, after this winter too has passed. It’s time to play lighthearted with Thomas, throwing off last season’s crippling heaviness of demands and expectations in the spirit of spring. Time to bask in the warmth of gratitude for living my dream with the man I love. In a beautiful country with people who have a different and slower approach to work and life. Ah, well, in the words of philosopher Lao Tzu: “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”