An Evolving Life. Relief.
Relief
During this holiday week, the Notre Dame fire continues to smolder in my mind. How could so much be lost in 12 hours? The architecture, the history, the soul of my beloved France.
Exactly one year ago, my husband, my daughter and I along with our French friends, a dear couple who were hosting us in Paris, savored a picnic of Napoleons and other decadent pastries in the cathedral’s garden facing the Seine. As we licked the rich cream from our fingers, I recall the sounds of children playing nearby and can still see the Rose window looming overhead above the cherry blossoms.
I’ll never forget my daughter’s expression of awe afterwards—the one I hadn’t seen since she was a four—as we roamed through the Gothic arches inside.
Watching the spire engulfed in flames, then toppling into the pit of fire this past Monday, I couldn’t help but hear echoes of hopelessness—-similar to the sounds that reverberated as I faced my television gnawing at my fingernails during and after 9/11.
Despite the heartbreak, there is much relief after this tragedy. There are no fatalities, no signs of terrorism, and much hope in the contributions of hundreds of millions to rebuild—-although the huge donations by French billionaires have amplified the Yellow Vest protest regarding inequality in France.
Here’s a sketch done several weeks ago that I happened to call Relief. Arched in repose, I had no idea that her bending back would symbolize the iconic arches of Notre Dame, nor the relief we feel that all was not lost and that the rebuilding can begin....
Click on the image below to enlarge.
Relief
An Evolving Life Series
2019 Posts
Relief (This one)
2018 Posts
Learn more about how it all began! Click here to read An Evolving Life posts from 2018.
