New Year at the French Farmhouse
I’ve always been a fan of New Year. Not the actual celebration itself – when you’ve got five kids who get up far too early, the thought of staying up ‘til midnight is NOT appealing – but the turning of a new calendar page and the sense of determination that comes with bidding goodbye to the things you’d rather get rid of and saying hello to a whole, brand-new You.
The problem? As most of us have come to realise, in the cold January months where most of us are broke, exhausted and (at least in my case) carrying half a tin of Quality Street on our thighs, it can be hard to stick to our well-meant plans.
One of the great things about living in France is that you get a second chance to make a new start once summer comes to a close. And these days I tend to save my intention setting for la rentrée.
What is la rentrée? I hear you cry. It’s what British folk might call ‘Back to School’ – the time of year that strikes horror into the hearts of children, and joy into the hearts of their parents in the UK. The beginning of September when the cogs of the education system begin to creak into life once more.
In Britain this means new shoes, new bags, fresh new exercise-book pages, new teachers and a resumption of routine.
In France, it goes one step further. La rentrée is not just for school… but for life.
As anyone who’s been in France over the summer can testify, here lots of things grind to a halt in August. Families holiday together, businesses close, town centres empty of locals and fill with tourists. If you want to get your car serviced, you’d be lucky to find anyone willing to pick up a spanner during the hotter months, and for goodness sake try not to break a bone – the doctor is on leave.
This summer slowdown is something I found frustrating, or sometimes bizarre when I first got here (restaurants closing their doors during tourist season? A local campervan hire company shutting shop in holiday time?). But I’ve since come to understand this as part and parcel of the French attitude to life – family and life come before work and money here.
August is when we rest. And nothing is more important than taking time out.
This means, come the September rentrée, it’s not just the kids shining their shoes for a whole new term, many adults are gearing themselves up for a fresh start too. September is the time when old and young alike enrol for sports and leisure clubs (which often run termly and break over the summer), and those who’ve spent August on leave return to work with renewed fervour.
What better time then to set your resolutions for the year ahead? You’ve had your summer break, you’re as relaxed as you’re going to get, the evenings are still long. If you’re ever going to create a brand-new version of yourself, this is the time.
So while I’m still hard-wired to wonder about the year ahead and what it might hold when the calendar flips to January, I’m determined to save my new year, new start, new me promises for a little later in the year.
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