ordinary life

Tom Swanson was never one to idle away his time, neither in high school nor during his college years. His mother, Madeleine, was French, and his father, Ben, was an American military officer stationed in the European Union. Their marriage was a ...

“Time, change, and death, have no power over the thing, unto which a man hath once given his whole soul.”— John KeatsUpon returning from his trip to the Grand Canyon, Tom stayed with his parents for another week. His father asked him:"How are things ...

“Beneath the vintage awning of Le Chat Noir, the autumn of Montmartre plays a soft chord of rain, washing over rose petals into coffee cups. Here, in the cozy shadow of the bistro, it is so easy to hide from the passing crowds, yet impossible to ...

“The zinc-grey roofs of Paris are the first to catch the pale pink silk of dawn, cradling the fragile silence of a waking city. Within their steep lines and labyrinth of chimneys, they guard the dreams of those brave enough to rewrite their own ...

“Silver at the temples and lines around the eyes — time’s inevitable price for the right to be truly happy.”Five-year-old Chloe was already completely ruling the living room, trying to teach three-year-old Leo how to properly build a tower out of ...

Time counts the stars above the Luberon,Weaving from past and future a single strand,While eternity, like a wise ancient castle,Gazes from the hill, no longer needing to rush…Tom comfortably led five-year-old Chloe by the hand along the station ...

"There are places where time stops slipping away and begins to preserve."Few of Tom’s colleagues in Paris knew that his parents represented a remarkable union of two entirely different cultures. His father was a true American southerner from the ...