Permission to get lost and be lonely

I have now been in France for 58 straight days.

Today I was finally summoned to the Mairie to pick up my residence permit, a rectangular self-sticking paper attached to one of the pages of my passport. It officially authorizes me to live in France until next July.

This afternoon Jason rode his bike to a neighborhood friend's house for the first time. He eventually found his way home, having gotten to know the surrounding streets in rather a bit more depth than he intended.

Today was also the first day that I started to feel lonely enough to consider contacting the U.S. community here. There is an American Women's Group, for instance, which puts out a helpful handbook for foreigners living in Montpellier, and conducts various types of gatherings and outings. Maybe I'll give them a call when the kids start school.