Mademoiselle Bleue and I met just once.  A carpe diem kind of creature, the Australian Blue Heeler mix capitalized on her owner’s momentary cell phone distraction to make her way randomly and gracefully toward me.

Breath of Spring

It was one of those delightful “seemingly chance” meetings that you both walk away from knowing you’ll always be friends.  “I named her Mademoiselle Bleue because she’s like a French woman . . . tough and feminine,” her owner confided.

Ah, ma amie.  Watching Mademoiselle Bleue explore the path with reckless delight, I remember the dog-eared copy of Debra Ollivier’s bestseller, What French Women Know:  About Love, Sex and Other Matters of the Heart and Mind resting inside on my shelf.

“In France, there is less concern about ‘fixing’ Mother Nature or human nature, because you don’t ‘fix’ yourself in France — you cultivate yourself.  You don’t fuss over the ‘right’ way to do something, you work with who you are and create your own personal narrative, and, in accepting that the brevity of time is inevitable, you fill your life with as much pleasure as possible.”  p. 183-84.

What a decidedly unpuritanical stance . . . and just in time for Spring.  Merci, my new bleue-eyed friend.

To learn more about Debra Ollivier, visit www.debraollivier.com or enjoy What French Women Know:  About Love, Sex and Other Matters of the Heart and Mind.