National Holidays and the World Cup

I forgot the French National Holiday last week, the one that's known in the States as Bastille Day. Last year the guys laughed at me when I wished them a happy Bastille Day. I took a leave day for my national holiday on July 4, and yet the French guys worked through theirs. I suppose part of it is that I have kids who expect a real holiday when it's time for a holiday. Not to mention that U.S. Independence Day on the Fourth of July is Darin's favorite holiday.

I had the Grand Duke's birthday marked on my calendar, so I was thinking about that as Darin and I talked about our plans for Independence Day this year. In Luxembourg, they have really nice fireworks, we were told, to celebrate the Grand Duke's birthday, which really isn't his birthday, so it's more like a national holiday for Luxembourg, on 26th of June. We didn't go see the big fireworks show last year. We said we'd try it "next year", but obviously, that didn't happen either. Our very first 4th of July living near DC (back in 1992), Darin and I went into town for the fireworks. We couldn't get into the concert, so we sat between the Capitol building and the Washington Monument. People had the concert playing on radios, so it was nice to hear the music and the show was nice. But after the kids came along, it was difficult to imagine finding a place for all of us downtown. My friend Mary Ellen said that if I really wanted to see the concert, then I should go to the dress rehearsal on the 3rd because it's a full dress rehearsal, just like the show, and the crowds are less, so it's easier to get in. But I never went. I was too tired from working that day, or the weather was too hot or too rainy, so I just kept saying, "I'll do it next year." But I never did.

This year in downtown Nashville, part of the free concert at Riverside Park was someone the kids really wanted to see -- Josh Turner. As Darin and I were talking about it, I felt like the idea that "we could do it next year" was right at the surface. I finally told Darin that we just couldn't do that this year or we might never go. And this year we would get to see Josh Turner. So we went.

As I reflect on our lives in Luxembourg, it often seems like a dream. There was a time in my life when I could understand French, and watch television in French or German, but that time has past. There was a time when I would walk past castles and cathedrals to get to work. Now it's gone, and it feels like such a distant memory. But at least I learned some lessons about taking chances and not putting things off.

At the time of my unfortunate demise in Luxembourg, the office was made up of 1 American (me), 2 Belgians, 2 French, and 2 Italians. If my boss was in town, then 3 French. I was thinking about the balance of power the week of the World Cup Finals. I'm sure it made for interesting office dynamics. And though at least one of the Italians tell us often that he is really only a part of the European Union, I think that changes when it's World Cup time. Maybe this will help the Italians feel better after they lost out on the papacy thing to Germany last year.

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