Today would have been my mom’s 84th birthday. Last week I was able to go to Geneva for the day, in part to honour her memory, as I know that was a City where she had the experiences that transformed her thinking and the life she wanted in so many ways.

It was good to see Geneva again, but like many big Western cities now, it has become similar to other big cities, filled in the downtown area with chain stores, although being Geneva it is mainly the high end stores, and banks and the brand names one can find everywhere. But tucked away in the older parts of town, the architecture of the traditional city remains, and the streets are narrower, and the pace slows down.

I was reminded of the experience of traveling from the US for the first time to live in Europe, and how the world opens up in ways that are hard to imagine until you do it. And wondering how JoAnn must have felt and how her world opened up then, and what she took away with her and held on to for all the years that followed.

Her experience in French-speaking Switzerland came alive for me years later during our time spent reading Le Petit Prince in french together when I was 12. She often talked about her year ‘abroad’ in between my efforts to understand the words penned so beautifully by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.  

This spring when I was looking for ways to travel from Plymouth England to Lyon France (where Pete is on sabbatical) imagine my delight when I discovered the Airport is the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Airport, and the city is his birthplace. Like my mother with Geneva, I have fallen in love with Lyon, and find the french I learned with her so long ago comes back easily here. The relaxed nature of the people in Lyon lure me into it’s orbit in a way I thought only London could do, once upon a time, many, many years ago.

So I was glad to spend a day last week in the city that transformed JoAnn’s world, much in the way that London originally changed mine. Because of JoAnn’s inspiration, I have taken the opportunity to change my home city to another country, and I will be ever grateful for that nugget she planted in those early days learning the lessons from Le Petit Prince.

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

My friend, photographer/philosopher Jerry Downs, wrote a book called Why You Were Born. He got me thinking about my own birth, childhood, and family. I was born just as my oldest sister was giving birth to her independent adult life. She had accomplished what our father could not – a college education. Although I barely knew her until I accomplished the same feat (completing a college education), I now wonder how and why we were connected, in spite of the 21 years between us. We both ventured far away from Albuquerque, we both stretched our minds in challenging women’s colleges, and for some reason we both landed in Marin County.  The last 2 years were very difficult for both of us and our families, but I am trying to remember the good stuff.  I was the one sister that she never really knew, yet I was the one the Fates chose to help her in her final sad journey. I am glad that I was the last one to say good bye.

The memory I choose to remember most is the first official Papafrangos family reunion in 2005. JoAnn spent many hours searching for a suitable location for the Big Fat Greek family. I even drove her to several hotels to evaluate them, including the winner, Westerbeke. She was thrilled to be gathering in the Valley of the Moon. Once again, I am struck by the irony – now I live in the Valley of the Moon, just a few miles from Westerbeke.  But the best thing she did for that reunion was to find someone to lead us all in Greek dancing. It was important to her to hold onto the Greek in all of us, and what better way to do that than to dance. My friend Jerry Downs put it like this:

Every moment of our lives is experienced in the present. It is like a dance. The music that moves us comes and goes a note at a time. It disappears the instant it is played and yet we find a way to keep step with what will follow. We dance for the sake of the dance, not to get done dancing. To be present, to be here now, doesn’t mean we have to eliminate our past or the future. The dance becomes beautiful, effortless, when we are able to hold our history and our hopes in the harmony that moves us all. Let’s dance!

Jo-Ann spent her junior year in Geneva.  She spoke French, knew the latest music and the latest fashions. As an almost-teenager, I was in absolute awe.  I had the coolest, most hip and trendy sister who ever could be.  I copied everything I could -- colors, slang, everything!  I could not wait to grow up and be soooo cool.