If the french language were a unicorn...

So what was the news that we recieved that would change things?

Last Wednesday we were told that we would be receiving two more students with us. Our immediate reaction was, "NO!!! We don't want to mess with the balance". But nobody actually asked us what we thought about it.

Ann and Ivan each have their own room, which I think is a smart idea for any couple. However, they decided to shack up and share one room, to make space for the two new girls.

The next day I found out that it was one of the girls from my class that was movin' in due to a bad host-family situation (bread and butter for dinner sort of deal). I also got to meet her roommate, who I have coined "le Cheerleader", because she sort of bounced up to me the first time we met and introduced herself in mangled french with a valleygirl accent. It was like watching a unicorn being slaughtered with an ax.

"Mon Dieu", I thought... my sacred host-family is being invaded by Jessica Simpson.

After only two weeks together, we had established a family unit (a family system) and I had no interest in changing it. Ironically, a month ago I wrote about the inevidabilty of change, and how we have a choice in how we deal with it. Here was my perfect opportunity to step up and prove my maturity to welcome change, to allow others to join the privileged situation that I was in.

So what did I do? I sulked for a while. I was cold. I was mildly bitchy for the first 4 days. Did these 19 year-old girls not realize they were invading the sacred Veggie-BC-Musician space? No, they did not. And for this they would suffer.

Nice work Dan.

Anyway, now it is a week later and the equilibrium has been re-established in the family. I have made an effort to be warmer. We are now seven people under one roof, things are busy and lively, the table is full of conversation. Le Cheerleader (pronounced with a thick french accent, "Le sheer-lee-deur") is actually a very sweet girl with intentions to be friendly and nice. The climate of the house has changed a bit, but things are still good...

It's still a bit of a fairy tale. Grumpy just had to make space for the other dwarfs.