Mother's Day.. Paris Letters~Paris Sketches~loong.x

Just read Paris Letters..and really enjoyed it~♥

Mid way..  in April..I decided to try and paint a tree I found on Pinterest..
I drew and painted it to the left of my paper and saw all this blank space to the right..
While reading Paris Letters..Could not help but think of my mom..over 40 yrs gone..and still..
She is always on my mind..:)
A great love..what can I say~♥
When I met my husband..41 yrs ago he said there are 2 kinds of love..L'amour avec le grand A  et l'amour avec le petit a..
I definitely had le GRAND A..for my mom..

So I wrote to her what I was thinking..  while reading the book..and thought of Carol..too..
My mom..would have "tripped"..on what they are doing~
I truly think she would have..

She studied at l'Ecole des Beaux Arts..

Some of her work..

so hard to take art photos on wall going up the stairs..the above ..and of course the one below..are oils..I have made them look like they are crooked..But they do seem straight in person:)

The one below is a pastel it was of her younger and only brother..I love it..pardon my reflection..I see my white..

I can't tell you how much I love looking at them..
She would have benn 13-15 years old when she did these.
Amazing to me.


I would add a PS..to her letter..

 Dear Mom..

You would have loved loving your 2 grandaughters:)
One looks like you:) The other is so much like you~They both have a bit of you..  in different ways..but it's all there..
So cute  they were..and fun!
I think you would have painted their portraits..and maybe you would have seen the little girl you lost in one of them.
I think you would have..

Every piano recital..  soccer game..birthday party..graduation etc..I wished you could have been there.
I was so envious of my friends who had their moms..and some still do..
The envy is no longer there..but when the girls were growing up..Oh lala..
And guess what? That university degree you really wanted me to get?
They got it..I am sure you beamed with pride up there..
They're funny..smart..devoted moms..busy girls.


You would have continued to appreciate and love your son-in-law..who took you to ..La Crêpe Bretonne  in Mtl..41 yrs ago..
You were spellbound..I remember..
You two enjoyed talking politics..history..etc..
I was still a teen and not too interested..
You were two peas in a pod.
You didn't get to know him for a very long time..but I'll never forget when dad found out something you had omitted to tell him way back when:)


Every little step of my way..the past 40 yrs..I have tried to tread..so you would still be proud..
I have erred.. many times..for sure..(you weren't there to help me find the  right way..)
But in the long run..your words resonated louder than any others...
And really..you would have said..to coin a phrase..
"Don't sweat the small stuff"..

..in French:)  and much more poetically..

You never met our first son-in-law..
because you never met our daughters..:(

Le grand A right away..
He is like John..your first born.. 6 ft 4..  a big teddy bear..smart.. handsome..same hair as Johnny..
loves to garden..cook(like a chef)..smart..and he can draw too..Lovely dad  to his 3 boys.. those boys are so into hockey and sports..because he takes the time to play with them..a good son to his mom..a lovely partner for our daughter...in this dance of life...and nice to us...


You would have flipped when Lucas was born..Lulu..♥

My first time at being a nana..

It was so easy..Love with le grand A..immediately..like you would have had with M and C..coup de coeur..
I still dream of him:)
And I remember him so well..all stages..the photos maybe have helped..mostly though..that grand A feeling..

Il est beau maman..comme il est beau.!.Et charmeur..:)  ses cheveux..son teint.. ses yeux..Ombre..:) All of it..

Then mom..Max came along..:)

Maxime..

You have no idea how out of everyone.. he is you ..in art:)

Un petit Picasso..et gentil..comme un coeur..
Il aime plaire..tout le monde l'aime..
Il a des taches de rousseur..comme papa.
Il lit tellement bien..

You never met your other son-in-law..but he is like dad mom.. a hunter..very personable..funny..
and a musician on top of his profession..he's a police sargeant..like Billy..
And he just got  chickens:)he can build most anything.
And he's nice to us..

Noah came along then..
He has your hair..and theirs..:)

Il est taquin like dad..

Handsome.. and funny:)and freckles..
And did I say busy?:)
I hope he never eats goldfish..LOL..(That means laughing out loud mom..)
And you know what I mean by that..

And then mom..I had another little grandson..
Olivier..Ollie..Oli..
His future arrival was greeted with another bottle of Veuve Clicquot...
Out of all the 1900's pics of dad's family..Oli has the forehead..:)

He is our baby and as sweet as sweet can be w/ an edge.:)
Just a playful edge..
Freckles too..the fairest of them all..
I dream of all 4 of them..

You would have had 2 step  great grandchildren too..
and you would have loved them both..
Giuliana..is a diva:)  she will be 13 this summer..:) Gorgeous hair..and sings even better than Adele:) with her dad:)   "Make You Feel My Love"~ So pretty and nice mom..
Adamo..he will be 15..guess what? Remember the 5 razors I inherited from my great aunt?We went to her home and you were allowed to have them and you gave them to me?  45 yrs ago..and they were already old?
I gave Adamo one.. who knew?I have 4 left..and 4 little men left

He got the first razor..:)
At Easter..
So nice..calm..handsome..

Mom..I know in everyone's life..we all have something..
and it's easy to remember and think of the not so pleasant hard to deal with somethings..
But I want you to know..
I have a boatload of great somethings..
too..
and you were the source..
Love you mom..
And I have not stopped talking about you..
All these years.
You were my first Grand A.

As Oli would say..

"Je t'aime".. encore.

Happy Mother's Day~

Love,Monique xx

And to everyone out there who is a mom or knows a mom or who has a mom..
Enjoy the weekend and the day~