Toothpaste

I bought some toothpaste today.

I feel the need to share this, because it’s amazing how quickly things can shift and change.

About a month and a half ago, when I was living in ridiculously small St. Bonnet le Froid, there was no way I could buy toothpaste. We had a little grocer, boucherie, a couple of bars, boulangerie, and that was pretty much it.

If I needed common household items like dish detergent, or soap, shampoo..toothpaste..I didn’t have a lot of options.

I would have to wait for a weekend when my friend Aurelie was free, and after we’d hang out for a couple of days in her bigger city, she’d graciously take me to the big supermarket.

Sometimes Aurelie would be unable to make it to St.Bonnet to pick me up, which left me with only one other option- walking to the next village’s grocery store.

By car, it’s an easy 15 minutes. Of course, I dont have one, and my days off didn’t exactly coincide with those who did have a car.

So I’d walk. On my days off, I’d walk 14 km to Duniere, to buy all my necessities. It took three hours there, three hours back. I’ll never forget the quality time I spent with myself during those long walks. Looking back, I would say I spent a lot of quality time with myself during my 6 months in St. Bonnet.

But now, well, I’m living the city life again. I can take the metro to anywhere I want, and that toothpaste is only a five minute walk away.

Life is pretty good.