Our French connection

I heard from our close almost-family connections at opposite ends of the world this morning. The Jollys in New Zealand are getting that home computer figured out, so I'm receiving almost daily notes from Robyne, Sarah, or Steve. It's winter there, so I'm sure they'll have the Internet stuff mastered fairly soon.

It's been about three years since we've received much news from the Ollivier family of Caen, France. This morning, however, my mail included a short, newsy note from Jean-Michel, the father of Romain. He tells us that Romain is living in a beautiful community on the sea called Vannes. He is completing his second year of residency to become a cardiologist. He's also sailing a lot.

We first met Romain back in the early '90s when my colleague Judy Hunt (the French teacher) asked if we'd like to host a young man for a month during the summer. Judy knew the Ollivier family through her past trips to France. Jean-Michel is a surgeon; his wife, Catherine, is a pharmacist. They have three boys Thibault, Romain and Timothy.

During that particular summer, all three boys were coming to Sandpoint. The other two would be staying with the Coburns and the Deanes. I was happy to accommodate Judy's request but admittedly a little nervous about the potential consequences of this month-long commitment. What if he didn't get along with my kids? What if the language barrier was too much? What if he didn't think living on a farm was too cool?

Well, my concerns were quickly alleviated as we met Romain for the first time late one night at Spokane Airport. After grabbing his bags and saying good bye to the rest of his group, he came with Willie, Annie and me to our car. There were lots of "yes" and "no" responses on that drive home, but by the next morning when it was obvious Romain intended to be a part of the family, the communications barriers quickly dissipated. We took him to town and later on a hike at Schweitzer. The bond was sealed.

In fact, I could not believe how fast he immersed into our family unit. He wanted chores to do. So, we told him he could feed the pigs. He loved it. He got to know all the animals and visited with them each day. It was obvious he felt at home. He especially enjoyed the freedom of going to the refrigerator any time he wished and watching television into the wee hours of the morning.

Romain connected with each of our family members in a unique way. He and Annie loved the food routines, especially the Schwan's individual pizzas. He and Willie headed off to the beach together and hung out. Bill and Romain had some fun playing tennis and golf together. Romain was a natural athlete and very good at any sport. In my case, I felt I'd acquired a third child and treated him as such. He was respectful, impish, and funny. He occasionally received a gentle reprimand or two. His quick wit fit right in with our family.

When that month ended, I cried when Romain left. I would do so two more times over two more years as he came to Idaho each summer and spent up to five weeks with us. It's been nearly ten years since we've seen Romain. He almost made it to Willie's wedding nearly four years ago, but the flight arrangements didn't work out.

"When the first grandchild comes, I'll be there," he told me. I'm going to hold him to that promise because this young man left a very special place in all our hearts.