This New Year’s Eve that lifted me up

When I met Caribel, we quickly decided to get married. It was obvious to us that it would be “for life”. “All Life” lasted twenty-five years, until December 2021. That year, my soul mate passed away on Christmas Eve, after seven months of battling cancer.

At the start of my widowhood, to escape the grief, I tried to bring to life, alone, a project that we were carrying out together: welcoming young people with disabilities at home. The experience went very badly. Sinking into depression, I ended up having a stroke. I couldn’t leave the Aveyron house in which we had lived so long and so happily. During one Christmas with our three daughters – who were worried about me – Coralie, the eldest, suggested that I come and live in her village, located in Charente. I accepted, even though I had absolutely no idea where I was going… And we left together.

On New Year’s Eve, Coralie took me to the parish community bar that she had been around for some time and where a solidarity New Year’s Eve was organized. Having arrived in the village barely three days ago, I didn’t know anyone, but my daughter had taken care to alert the volunteers of my presence. I was welcomed more than warmly. She wished me a good evening before leaving to join friends.

The evening was delicious: there were around sixty of us, most of whom came alone but eager to celebrate New Year’s Eve happily. Everyone brought a dish to share, and a young person from the parish acted as a DJ. The next day, I returned to the bar to help put away the decorations. The following week, I took my membership card and began to look forward to every Tuesday – the day the premises opened – impatiently. So much so that I refused any job interview that might come up that day! From Sunday to Sunday, I discovered a lively, warm parish whose members gradually became my friends. “How you have changed,” I heard a year after my arrival.

I deeply believe that Caribel continued to watch over me and that she has continued to guide my steps until today. We continue to move forward, “for all of life”.