Today just happens to be my birthday and with much gratitude I am blessed to still be here! What better day to count my blessings and to honor those who cared for and loved me. My family has all passed to the other side, except my aunt and uncle, but I keep the memories of their love alive inside my heart.
I was born on a Wednesday in the hot August sun. The fertile flat delta of north Louisiana is where I landed and called home. I remember huge stretches of cotton fields, and lazy bayous draped with cypress and moss. There were many more scorching hot summers to come, but perhaps because I was a summer baby, they never really bothered me.
My grandmother Mama was always loving and affectionate. She lived on bayou Desiard and we often sat around her table with huge platters of brim, caught from her dock, fried golden crisp and her wonderful hush puppies. She often made me delicious coconut cakes and her fried apricots pies shaped like crimped half moons .
My other grandmother, Grandma Bert lived in up state New York, near Vermont, and although I did not see her often, she was loving and warm. My first birthday was spent with her on Cape Cod in her summer home there . There was always dinners of fresh picked corn, tomatoes and lobsters. She made sure to send me a huge can of Vermont maple syrup every year.
My mother was a southern belle who fell in love with my father, a dashing young pilot who just happened to be stationed in the south. My parents were very generous and provided many opportunities for me in my youth. I remember the sensuous scent of magnolias in the back yard and also the dozens of gardenia bushes my mother planted everywhere it seemed. There were also lovely parties every year. They also allowed me to travel to far lands and develop new horizons. To them I owe my life of course and wish they were still here.
I was always a very spiritual child, who sought the sanctuary of prayer when life hurt, much as I do today. By the age of 11, I had confronted the death of two of my young cousins that left me with much sorrow and survivor guilt. My aunt Margaret and uncle Art were always loving and have always been there for me.
High school was fraught with all the adolescent anxiety I shared with my peers. Though it was not a very happy time for me, I was always made welcome by loving friends, who are like jewels to me today. I was way too serious, maybe too pious and certainly emotionally old for my age.
My interest in cooking started early and by the age of 10 could do a perfect sauce hollandaise. I suspect that I was the only 17-year-old in north Louisiana who wanted Larousse Gastronomique for her birthday. After graduation, I spent an idyllic summer at the University of Hawaii taking such frivolous courses such as foods of the pacific and hula dancing of all things.
Being an extremely sensitive empath, I often felt psychic at times. I grew up being the mediator in my family and by my teens had a good grasp of dealing with personalities and taking care of people. My friends would call me “mother” Cherry and I often was into rescuing them from their teenage escapades of drinking. In many ways I felt like a therapist from my early teens and just had to go get my credentials in order to practice.
I never felt much in place at LSU, where the culture of beer, football, and raucous parties were just not my cup of tea. I preferred spending weekends with my sweet aunt and uncle in New Orleans . On the banks of the Mississippi, there was the ruins of an old plantation overgrow with weeds, that I liked to visit and contemplate in the quietness
I arrived in Paris on a drizzly morning in September and the love affair begin. After a few months in Tours at the university there to learn the “purist’ of French , I returned to the city by the Seine. Finally I felt the freedom I was seeking to be me. By this time I had been captivated by the delicacies of French cuisine and glorious wine. Sorbonne and studies competed with what ever classes I could take at the Cordon Bleu.
Love and romance were in the air, and as destiny would find me, I fell in love and the rest became history. When I left Paris many years ago to return home to Louisiana, with a fiance in tow, I knew in my heart that someday I would come back.
My two children Aimee and Andre are life’s greatest gifts and blessing. Motherhood was very fulfilling and I am very grateful for their love. Louisiana would offer me many blessings to raise my children and start a career that I love. With being a therapist, I had found my niche and all the beautiful patients I now hold in my heart.
There came a time where I had a chance to make a dream come true, and in December of 1999, I finally returned to the city by the Seine. It was a bold leap of faith, but I am glad I had the courage to follow through. More blessings to come were the birth of my grandchildren Isabelle and Brayden who are my heart’s delight.
My life has had many ups and downs, and sorrows and joy. Throughout the years I have learned to seek beauty and create joy, rather than waiting for it to pop in my lap. I do not think I have really changed much from the little girl in Louisiana. Life may not be comprehensible, but it is a gift of learning and discernment, that hopefully leads to wisdom. It is a sacred journey for all of us.
For all of you who have touched my life with friendship and love, know that I am grateful for you having been in my world. Loving offers us the greatest rewards. Filled with gratitude on my birthday for all my blessings, I send you all much love and many hugs.
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What a wonderful story..I did not know so many of those things about you. I am so glad you shared that with us. I knew all along thou what a beautiful person you are and reading this makes me so grateful i know you and have you in my life. I would love to know more stories about you when you can take the time to share them..Happy Birthday and many,many more. love, Becky
Thank you again Becky for your birthday wishes and sweet words. It was therapeutic for me this time to write down some memoires from childhood. All of our lives are so intricate and full of stories. One of the things I love being a therapist is to get to know the many paths we have taken and the courage we have had to live our lives.
Dear Cherry–I love your birthday memories– I met you after your Father built a building for my Dad at 230 S Grand St–in 1963 for the CREDIT BUREAU a business my Dad started in 1928 with a loan of $800. Your Father and I became friends and when Dad died on Dec 4 1965 he was a pall bearer; and I was way too young for going from the mailroom to the boss–so I would stop by after work and many times your Mom would cook great suppers; I remember we talked stocks a lot and I met your Grandma from — I thought –upstate New York. I remember you at LSU and one time we were both on a Southern DC-3 flying from Baton Rouge to Monroe–In Aug 1965 I left on my first trip to Europe and when I returned–that night– you called and wanted to know the story–and then you said, “Guess where I am going tomorrow?” I did not know–and you said-“Paris” and left on the morning plane–1965— is one of the few years I kept a diary but–you are in it a lot and you would really get a kick out of those stories now. In Jan 1965 I flew to Hawaii and remember seeing your movies of Hawaii– and Aloha Airlines–which we all later bought skt in; I bought it for 40 cents a share– and many years later it went privite for $22 a share–but the airline is gone now– So many –good stories–
Again,Happy birthday–or as Dominique said to me in Montreal–“Bonne fete”
These are all wonderful memories—
Thank you very much for all your wishes and stories. Please forgive for not remembering your Dad died when you were so young. You had to all of sudden be thrust into mature manhood unprepared. I do remember my father constructing the credit bureau, and the old DC-3 flying between Monroe and Baton Rouge’s. I ended up forgetting to convert my Aloha stock, amongst other stupid things. I wish I had my grandmother’s stock knowledge. She would read the Wall Street Journal daily until she died! You have traveled many exotic places and have many stories of your own to share. May we all be blessed in health for many more years of adventure!
I enjoyed so much reading your birthday thoughts. I,too was very introspective as a child. I suppose out was my outrageously difficult childhood. I have always been fascinated by the subject of psychology and have psychoanalyzed myself my whole childhood. I guess that’s how I got through it remaining happy and fairly well adjusted. Well, Happy Birthday
Thank you Marilyn for your kind comments. Our childhoods can leave us with so many scars. You were very fortunate and resilient to have come though with much insight and strength. In high school, most of us kept our hurts secrets and put on a mask. It is nice to reveal to others our shared fears and hurts that a lot of us had to deal with growing up.
Cherry, thanks so much for sharing your story with us. I had wondered how you ended up in one of my favorite cities. While we lived in Belgium, we made many trips to Paris just for brunch. We really love everything about the city. My children were in high school when we were living in Belgium, and were lucky enough to make many school trips to Paris, to play sports, with the drama club, with their cool English Lit. teacher, (in search or Hemingway, and along the way they also found Jim Morrison). They, too, love the city. Our Mark and his family recently spent 2 weeks in Paris. Thanks again, Janet
Thank you Janet for your encouraging words. You must have incredible stories galore to tell of your time spent abroad! Please share your experiences more in detail. Thank you for reading my humble blog!
Happy birthday Cherry!!!
Wishing you a very wonderful and fun filled day.
Your blogs are so interesting to read. I never knew reading about
Psychiatry would be so interesting.
I look forward to reading more.
Thank you dear Isham for your very sweet wishes and kind words. You always had this incredible gift and passion for all that grows! I am still learning, and will always be grateful for you being in my life and for teaching so much about plants! Many hugs!
I love the story!!! your grandchildren will love to know this. They are very interested in their or your past. They ask me all the time Keep the family story alive so they can pass it down to their children and grandchildren!
Thank you Andre! Your words are sweet to my ears as the little boy I raised and now the father of my grandchildren. You have to keep up the story alive for me when I am gone. I love you!
Happy Birthday Cherry. I have enjoyed reading your blogs. They are very interesting and informative.
Thank you Robin for your birthday wishes! I hope I can continue to meet your expectations and be helpful in any way I can.
This reply will probably reach you while you are sleeping with memories of the day and your past still swirling in your head. What wonderful memories you shared with us! I have enjoyed all the postings on Facebook. You had Luaus at the end of school every year and I was fortunate to be invited. Your parents treated all of us as their friend too. I remember how nice your mother always was to me. It has been twenty years since I last saw you and your mother. You were the one person in junior and high school that I felt I could share any thought that I had. We talked, in person and on the phone, for hours. Even when I moved away we continued to talk periodically. Eventually, time and distance caused us to become strangers. I will always hold my memories of you dear to my heart as a true friend. Happy Birthday.
Thank you Eddie for the very sweet words. I am glad you have nice memories of the Luaus. I had an obsessional interest in everything polynesian, so I enjoyed putting them together. You were always a very nice friend to me too, so I felt fortunate that I could share with you also. Each of us gets caught up in life’s agenda as that is the nature of growing up and starting our own lives. I would love to hear your many stories since we last saw each other!
You were as beautiful as a baby as you are now. Happy Birthday , dear friend. You have truly lived the life of dreams.
Thank you so much Carol for such sweet words! You are beautiful too! I would love to see you and Bill again in Paris. Not sure when will be back in Louisiana.