Cotton balls & Muffins

So I had a moment on Monday that made me think of Paris. (Not the first time, nor will it be the last that I share moments about that place and...an apology would be insincere cause I'm not really sorry. haha) I remember before I left to Paris being scared out of my mind because I'd heard soo many people tell me how mean and stuck up everyone was in Paris. Being the personality that I am, this made me all the more determined to find great things about them. I was on a quest! I tried to be extra nice and looked for & appreciated any glimmer of their kindness. I think (at least in part) because of this mentality, I adored my three months there. I loved every single detail.

One moment in particular came to mind on Monday and later I'll explain why. My friend kate and I were walking to the metro (on our way home from institute or something) and I had been pretty sick for like a week. Bad headache, stuffy nose, a wee bit achy...all things that are no good. But I remember thinking, "How cool is it that I'm sick in Paris?! Most people that come here aren't even here long enough to get sick. But I got myself some parisian germs and the fact that I'm sick here, makes this place officially a home and not just a vacation spot." Yes, my friends, determined positivity to a possible fault.

We were walking to the metro, we stopped by our friends' crepe stand and said good night to them, and I vaguely remember hitting my arm on someones backpack on the street when we left. We stopped in a pharmacy to see if I could find myself some medicine or something for whatever it was these parisian germs had given me. I went up the cashier and the two guys from behind the counter looked at my arm with big eyes, spoke quiet & beautiful french, and one of them came back with a cotton ball and some sort of liquid medicine on it. I was completely lost. They pointed to my arm and it was bleeding. I guess I'd hit that persons backpack fairly hard because there was a little blood running down my arm. I hadn't even noticed. So these darling french boys went out of their way to get me a cotton ball to clean up a little bit. I remember walking out of the store holding the cotton ball to my arm and I was so happy and thankful and surprised and ...almost started crying to my friend kate. haha (I realize I'm possibly losing cool points over this story and I'm surprisingly okay with it.) I just thought it was so awesome that these supposedly "stuck up" french boys would go completely out of their way to help a little foreign blondey with her scraped arm. I just thought it was awfully thoughtful. I kept thinking, "Well geez, they didn't have to do that. That's the sweetest thing." haha My friend Kate teases me to this day that all it takes is a cotton ball to make me cry of gratitude.

So Monday was my birthday. I had honestly not thought a lot about it. I had a grundle of stuff due the weekend before and 5 finals coming up this week--2 of which were on my birthday. Needless to say I hadn't had time to think about it and none of my friends were going to be in town on that day anyway so ...I had zero celebratory plans. It was just another Monday. I woke up super early to finish up some last minute studying and a couple of hours later, at 9:30, I scurried on up to take my back-to-back finals.

I got to my first final like 10 minutes early so I sat down to read my notes some more. One of my classmates saw me sit down on the bench and came up to me with a little brown bag, set it down by me and said, "Happy Birthday Mallory". She brought me a blueberry muffin. Though to someone like me, it might as well have been a blueberry cotton ball. haha

How sweet right? I have no clue how she even knew it was my birthday...had to be facebook. haha I just thought it was the sweetest thing that someone would stop to do something so sweet and simple when they obviously have plenty of things to do. You guessed it. I think I almost cried. Partially because I wasn't planning on anything groundbreaking happening that day. But the muffin pushed me over the top. haha Also...I may have been stressed and sleep deprived. Can I blame my almost existent emotional tears partially on that?? I just love those little moments in life when the only thought that comes to mind is, "Wow, you didn't have to do that." Alls I have to say is my dear little future husband has got it so easy. haha Seriously? Cottonballs and muffins? Yeah...

P.S. thanks for your phone calls, texts, and fb messages. Loved them and love you. The end.