TODAY’S WORD: la joie : joy
PRONUNCIATION: [zhwah]
Example sentence:
Ce truc que j’avais enfant avait un nom : la joie.
That thing I had as a child had a name: joy.
Ce truc by Jacqueline Espinasse
Do you remember ce truc you had as a little kid? Do you remember how scents, sounds, textures, and colors felt so vivid, intense, amplified?
Just a few years ago, I realized that ce truc had a name: joy. It’s when everything you experience feels amplified. Then I grew up, and I thought I had lost it. Unconsciously, I developed new feelings that crushed that joy. It took me fifteen years to recognize that this wasn’t joy.
I remember waking up in the middle of the night in France, knowing my family and I were about to catch a plane to Arizona for the Christmas holidays. Or simply lying by the pool in the summer, feeling the warmth of the tiles after swimming like a fish all afternoon. That was joy.
Everyone is different, but for me, scent is everything. I associate memories with smells and colors. For example, I connect the summer of 2023 with citronella and yellow. Citronella, because that summer a lot of mosquitoes were at war with us, and the best natural way to keep them away was citronella oil. And yellow, because the word citronella contains “citron”, which means lemon, and lemons are yellow. I know, that’s just how my brain works. And just a few days ago, I ordered that scent online. I needed to feel that summer again. This is joy.
Another thing I do, connected to scent, is stop and seek new smells—like a puppy excited for its walk. When I hike with Mom and Dad along a path called Chemin de Sainte-Croix, I always pick some rosemary leaves. And boy, do I rub them hard between my hands before bringing them to my nose. This is joy.
Working in this French kindergarten takes me back. I try so hard to think and feel the way the little ones do, because at that age, there are no bad feelings. The other day, while helping one of my toddlers put on his shoes, he kept looking through the window, waiting with excitement to spot his mom. Ten minutes later, I found myself standing on the subway platform, watching New Yorkers looking for the train with the same look little Zayn had looking for his mom.
It’s funny because both of them had the same look, but surely different feelings: for the New-Yorker, it was relief, for little Zayn, it was joy.
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
It’s the first week of October and the leaves outside have turned bright red overnight, as if embarrassed to be in the spotlight of autumn. I can relate to that urge to fade into the background. For now, though, they’ve almost accidentally stepped up to the podium of life, and the audience is waiting to hear what they have to say… even if leaves don’t talk.
I felt a bit like one of those crimson feuilles the other day, thrust suddenly into view during a Zoom call with the Vice President of the Alliance Française. The purpose of our meeting was to practice for the November 19th “Words as Keys” webinar featuring my book, A Year in a French Life. Our conversation will be broadcast to a large audience, including members of L’Alliance Française, La Renaissance Française, the American Society of the French Academic Palms, and the American Association of Teachers of French.
The thought of addressing this esteemed group was mind-numbing, which might explain how lost I felt in the mock interview. The questions were clear enough, but to my dull brain they might as well have been in hieroglyphics. All I had to do was elaborate on the book’s raison d’être — something I should be intimately familiar with, having written it. Instead, I sat there stuttering. Je bégayais.
“That’s ok,” Renée reminded me. “This is a rough draft,” she said, speaking my language. As encouraging as her words were, I began to wonder if I do best alone in a room talking to myself on paper—a.k.a. writing—and not speaking. Maybe I’m just not cut out for interviews or the screen?
After the video call, I made a beeline over to Mom’s, Ricci on my heels like a little furry messenger eager to share my emotional state with Grandma.
“I was all over the place! Why is it so hard to talk about my book?” I said before Jules could offer “hello.” Having heard me out, Mom pushed aside her laptop, sat up in bed, and smiled her warmest sourire. “Honey, this is going to polish you up! One day you’re going to be on the evening news.”
“Mon Dieu. I hope not!”
As nerve-racking as the thought was, Mom’s reply melted me. I wanted nothing more than to rest in her warmth and confidence, to pull a blanket over myself, snuggle in with Ricci, and let the hum of Mom’s wisdom polish me into a little pearl. Instead, Ricci began to roughhouse, stirring up my energy. It was time, once again, to roll up my sleeves—to practice, to polish, and to show up at the podium of life.
No more trembling, autumn’s bold colors hint at the power within. That little red leaf is at the podium, about to rustle.
📘 FRENCH VOCABULARY
ce truc = that thing
la joie = joy
la citronnelle = citronella
le citron = lemon
le chemin = path
le sourire = smile
je bégayais = I was stuttering
la feuille = leaf
L’Alliance Française = French cultural organization promoting language and culture
La Renaissance Française = French cultural and heritage organization
la raison d’être = reason for being, purpose
Mon Dieu = My God / Oh my God
REMERCIEMENTS
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Hi Kristi. Congratulations on your médaille d’or des valeurs francophones. What an honor! I didn’t know that you wrote for France Today. I used to read the print magazine when I lived in the US. I will try to catch the webinaire on the 19th
Bon chance à la podium, Kristi!
Truly an emotionally stirring piece.
Our dears Kristi and Jackie ,
Your post today was not only eloquent,but totally captured all the emotions we feel as we traverse life on a daily basis.Kristi,you give me such comfort( and inspiration!) in knowing I am not alone when I face fear–trepidation!– as I find myself faced with a challenge I am not sure I am strong enough to tackle! And,ma chere,you will come through your interview ( this is a BIG deal!)leaving all of us not only proud of you( again!),but also truly in awe of your courage to tackle and conquer!
Jackie, you are such a gifted writer! Totally following in your dear Mom’s footsteps with confidence and beauty!
Such glorious pictures! They wrap themselves around our hearts!
Blessing always!
Arms tight around you all
Love
Natalia. Xo
Hi Kristi and Jackie,
I can relate to both of your stories today! I love the word “Joy” and the feeling it brings! I too relate to scents, sounds, textures and colors. A scent or sound can immediately take me back to a place and time in my life. Kristi, you will be wonderful on the webinar! I love the photo of you and baby Jackie and also the photo of Max meeting baby Jackie. Kristi, don’t you remember the scent of your children’s sweet baby heads? I can still remember the baby scent and the softness of my childrens’ little heads! That was JOY!
I so enjoy all of your writing! They always brighten my day. Merci mille fois.
Three beautiful girls, representing three generations. Jules, Kristin, and Jackie! My first comment is directed to Jackie. You are a writer like your mom. As for scents, they awaken something in us before anything else. Here in the Midwest, when I smell diesel from a bus or a truck in the clear early morning air, I am immediately, for a brief pleasurable moment, transported to Paris.
And to Kristi, what an incredible honor. Congratulations! And I have to tell you that your paragraph above, beginning “After the video call, I made a beeline over to mom’s…” captures in a couple of words, the nature of a dog ~ all excited because you are, but not having any idea why! Love it!
Congratulations, Kristin. I know you will do very well. It’s great that you are getting the recognition you deserve. Well done!
Les différents moments de joie font le bonheur! C’est ça le bonheur!
Kristi, I understand that sense of fear when speaking about yourself and what you have done. Your mom is the best though in giving you encouragement.
Jackie, your thoughts on joy are beautiful. I call them “glimmers” – when you see something wonderful and are reminded of the joy in life all around us.
Thank you!
Would love to read a few paragraphs written by Jules!
Dear Kristi & Jackie: So many ” thank you’s” to both of you. Remembering scents, particularly after our daughters’ baths was the most cherished. Facial expressions, smiles, scrunches, eyes shut tight, little fists balled up are very vivid memories. As for Brooklyn, loving to walk on the beach & boardwalk of Coney Island, watching a beautiful sunset or swimming in the freezing cold water in the winter are memories that are often conjured up. Treasures were often found on the beach! Thank you both for your inspired writing. I always look forward to your e-mails. amicalmente, ann
What joy I FIND IN THE TWO OF YOU. Jackie’s words flow so easily as does Kristi’s and we get double the pleasure. Keep it up.
Jacqueline, beautiful joyful writing. Must be genertic, or simply a magnificent mama who encouraged your gifts. And what a gift THAT is. Yes, joy. So many moments in the day full of it….if one just smells and tastes them….
Loved reading both of your posts this morning. Jackie’s association of smells with emotions reminds me of reading Marcel Prousts works starting with the fragrance of a petite Madelaine that triggers his memories.
And Kristi, I just know you will find that inner strength when you step to the podium for your interview with Alliance Francaise.
This is a wonderful article from Jackie to always remember “your” joy. Loved it!
Coincidentally enough, here’s a poem I wrote several years ago entitled, ‘String Pearls Upon the World’. Here it is for Kristi and Jackie and what comes through you … 🙏
String pearls upon the world with pleasure
Delve the depths for wisdom
Vehicles of Light are here
Discipline
Devotion
Doing
Speak through us with measure
Delay demands its spite
Listen to the sounds of dark
Diminishing
Stillness
Bright
💕 Dearest Ladies,
Much gratitude for this insightful, beautifully written post! The awareness of someone so young, and the humility of someone twice her age, not to mention the fact that they have the most wizened and wonderful woman as a loving presence in their lives, is a treasured pearl we all hold dear!