December 2012, Christmas Night.

We had a busy Christmas morning opening Christmas gifts.  Lizzie loves giving gifts and we love receiving them.  She had bought t-shirts for Bill and Richard from Roots, a Canadian company.  The shirts were wrapped in Roots bags.  Very cute.  Lizzie had given me a beautiful scarf and some lotion from 

I always loved their lotions and the company has boutique stores in the malls.  The lotion is generally too expensive for me to purchase but Lizzie had brought me a sample box of different scented lotions.  Too exciting.

Since Lizzie had spent now three semesters in Montreal her appearance was definitely reflecting a more stylish person.  She got bangs, just about the time that Zoey Dechemal with her bangs became famous with her tv show.  Then Lizzie had dyed her hair ombre style, dark on top lighter on the bottom like

Caroline Polachek

of the musical group Chairlift.  Another addition was the use of scarves.  Just like in France even on a hot summers day the woman will wear scarves.  Lizzie had perfected the scarf with her outfits.  When we visited her in October of 2011 she appeared as a person I hardly recognized, a black dress, tights, boots, a scarf, her bangs and a loose overcoat.  Each piece adding to her “new stylish look”.  Quite cute.

So, now with that context you see why receiving a scarf from Lizzie was so exciting.  It was black and gray with almost a purple hue and it hung beautifully despite the gobs of fabric.

Christmas night I was exhausted from hosting dinner, just the day, and everything else.  I was already in bed and for some reason I was really drawn to going upstairs to thank Lizzie for my gifts.  So, just imagine how strong the urge was as I was already in bed and cozy plus I had to climb the stairs.  Lizzie’s lights were out and she was all curled up in her bed  but still awake.  I told her thank you that I loved my scarf and knew she spent a lot on it as the scarf lie so perfectly around my neck.  Also, thank you for the lotions that I was too cheap to buy myself.  She said you are welcome MaMa.  She always called me MaMa.  That was the last time I heard her voice for over a year.  I’ll be forever grateful that I made the effort to connect with her that night.