Reflection on this day of rejoicing

It all went to C@#&@###@ 35 years ago, during an exchange with a school in Washington DC. Since then, the desire to leave has never left me. 35 years without really being able to explain why, 35 years of being told "But why do you want to leave, the grass is not greener elsewhere, we are fine here", 35 years of trying by all means, 35 years of putting his life on hold so much the desire is there, 35 years with the same refrain in mind: "America, America, I want to have it and I will have it, America, America, if it is a dream, I will know it".

Then comes the long-awaited moment when we can finally move on to the second verse: "My friends, I must go, I just have to throw away my keys, Because it's been waiting for me since I was born, America. I leave behind so many things that I loved on my way It starts with a little sorrow, America..." and there we realize, we question ourselves... "Leave? Wait a minute, what to leave? Me? Right now?"

So it was on Saturday, September 28, 2013, after having sold everything, or let's say sold off or given away, and leaving behind what was most precious to me in the world to satisfy this unexplained need to go there, that I arrived in Quebec with my two 23 kg suitcases, in a small apartment on rue Sainte Angèle, in this district of old Quebec, where the streets seem to have the accent... I remember Vincent's sentence, which he will recognize, "you leave with a feeling of lightness, your life fits in a 23 kg suitcase, then you arrive on the other side with a strange feeling or finally you only have 23 kg left..."

Yes, over there, where everything is new, everything is wild,... that's why I'll go there.... it takes heart, it takes courage.... (well-known tune) yes it took courage, especially since a few months later... the refrain in my head has changed "But winter has just broken out, The Saint-Laurent is a prisoner, Of ​​a December that will last six months, When the days resemble the nights, With no clearing to hope for Who can believe that summer will come back to usaaaaaaaaa..... (well-known tune)

Yet since this sunny September weekend, what a journey, what beautiful things, beautiful encounters, no I regret nothing...

To use a well-known phrase, to choose is to renounce, it's true. So on this day conducive to taking stock and the blues I could not say otherwise, yes there are many people and things that are missing, but the balance sheet remains largely positive.

So to all those who are wondering, to all those who doubt, I would say that it is never too late, that age is not an excuse, that it is worth it (both literally and figuratively). If you have a dream, don't let anyone dissuade you, take charge, stay "focused" but to quote Confucius, it's fashionable, he said "Happiness is not found at the top of the mountain, but in the way of climbing it" so enjoy life, things always happen at the right time, whatever you do, but he also said (yes I know I'm really great, two quotes in the same post) "We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize that we only have one."

For a few months now I have had another refrain in my head:

In the middle of my life, I learned again.

What I learned can be summed up in three or four words:

"The day someone loves you, the weather is very nice,

I can't say it better, it's very nice!"

JF - The Belgian