Fleeting Moments

Today it randomly hit me that my time in France is in fact limited/definite/coming to an end.  Perhaps it is because I recently booked an official return flight home, or maybe because I need to purchase a TGV train ticket to Paris/CDG airport soon, or simply because whenever I look at a calendar I am instantly reminded just how quickly May will arrive.  Whatever the reason may be, today I couldn’t escape the ever present sound of a clock ticking away my moments left here.

This feeling of time running out completely overwhelmed me: as I rode the bus into the city center I wondered how many more times I’d make this same ride until I’d be faced with my last.  As I sat in a café enjoying a chocolat viennois and conversation with friends I couldn’t help but succumb to a voice reminding me that these moments are in no way unlimited.  As I wandered Rue de la Liberté and popped in and out of shops I tried to ignore the realization that it wouldn’t be all mine anymore in a few months.  And as I walked home from the city center I pondered how many more times I’d race across certain crosswalks at Place Wilson or if I’d remember the smell of each boulangerie on Rue d’Auxonne.

While I'm not certain what caused this hyper-awareness that I have less than three months of living in this enchanting city it made me appreciate the time I do have all the more.

Word of the Post: pensif/pensive -- reflective