cece | lost and found

This weekend my sister and I took a quick trip to my french grandparents’ house in Alençon, Normandie. I hadn’t been in there in a while, maybe 8 or 9 years. Ever since my grandparents died I didn’t really see the point of going back there.

When we opened the door, so many memories came back to me. The smell hasn’t changed. Nothing has. The same antique furniture is still there. Photo frames everywhere. My grandfather’s desk hasn’t moved. My grandmother’s shoes are there, on the stairs. My father’s Tintin comic books haven’t moved either. Books, books everywhere.

One good thing since my grandparents passed, is that my sister and I are finally allowed to go through all kinds of stuff that we weren’t allowed to see when we were kids. We opened all cabinets and drawers and found old letters, photo albums and random objects from their Paris and Normandie days.

I haven’t taken any nice picture since I didn’t bring my camera, but I managed to capture a few things with my sister’s Canon. If you have time, please click on thumbnails to see larger pictures, they’re extremely beautiful and full of poésie . It’s always weird in a good way to see your parents at a young age…

I will go back for sure, probably in the spring. There is a big backyard and from what I remember it looks beautiful in the summer. Me and my sister slept in the same bed we used to sleep in when we were young. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and I was 8 again.

Found these in my mother’s home in Vientiane, Laos. My grandma says he was an amazing man. So amazing that even though she was 20 and alone with 3 children when he died in a plane crash, she did not try to find another husband. She is 74 today and says she never had any other man in her life. “What’s the point? I’ve already found love.”