Marking Eleven Years in Paris and Telluride with Mom

Me and Mom Early Spring 1990ish Having Tea in the Garden at the Normandy Country House

In the almost eleven years that I’ve been doing Travel Fun, my talk show on travel, here in Telluride, Colorado, I’ve never had I guest tell me they loved me. At least I don’t think so.

Recently I had a guest say it at the beginning of the interview and the end. It was so sweet and it touched me immensely. That guest was my Mom, so I guess it shouldn’t have come as a big surprise. But still, my mother has never been very effusive and the I love yous and hugs usually come from me. I interpret this as a sign that she was charmed and touched by the fact that I asked her to be a guest on my radio show. (She did exhibit a certain reserve, however, especially when she referred to me as Maribeth throughout the interview, a name she usually reserves for more formal or official occasions—-or when she’s annoyed with me. Both my parents most often call me Bethie.)

Maribeth aside, Mom did a super job helping me to celebrate a milestone that is important to me:  It has now been eleven years that I lived in Telluride, Colorado, the same amount of time I lived in Paris, France. Mom has been with me all the way both spiritually, mentally and through lots of wonderful visits to France and Colorado.

Click on the play button below to hear my mother, Mary Ellen Clemente, and me talk about some of our most memorable times in these two wonderful cities, these two beautiful lands. Sure, we reminisce about our times together , however, we also talk about what these two destinations, Paris and Telluride, have in common. To me, it’s the sheer beauty—-one manmade, the other natural—-that is the common denominator. Authenticity also reigns supreme and for me, I feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced both of these very real places for over a decade.

Me Last Year as a Ski Instructor with Someone Else that’s Celebrating a Special Anniversary this Year

Dad and Mom Supporting Me at a Book Signing for                  A Tour of the Heart

What drew me to Colorado you might ask? As I explain in the interview, the number one reason was the sunshine, something that’s served up in glorious doses here in Telluride. Yes, the grey days of Paris were often a bit much for me—-yet I always say that one must experience the City of Light in all its greyness. This, too, my Mom talks about in the interview below.

Indeed I changed up my life considerably and morphed into a more down-to-earth Rocky Mountain girl after having lived a very sophisticated life in Paree. I even became a ski instructor, which surprised many, including myself. This season will be my eleventh. Hmmm.

A Tour of the Heart: A Seductive Cycling Trip Through France

There I go with the eleven thing again. Mom and I chat about that. Funnily enough, since last fall I’ve noticed that I most often look at the clock when it marks eleven minutes after the hour. Whether it’s 11:11, 1:11, 3:11, 8:11—-well, you get the idea. As Mom says, “It’s eery.” Yes, I think so, too, but I believe it’s signaling something really fantastique! Let’s hope so, since the writer’s life that I’ve chosen is not always an easy one. Thankfully my ski instructor life balances me out by being physical, more out of my head while having fun with others and also by feeling like I’m part of the mountain family (instead of toiling away at my desk on my own). Yes, I guess it has worked out the way it’s supposed to have—-I’m just hoping I can take it up a notch.

Thankfully I have had my most ardent supporters, my Mom and my Dad, cheering me on every step of the way.

Click on the play button below to hear me chatting with my Mom about this eleven-year anniversary. I promise she doesn’t gloat about me too much.

I love you, too, Mom.

For more on this crazy life of mine, visit my About page, read Reflections on My Ten Years as a Ski Instructor and check out my recent book, A Tour of the Heart:  A Seductive Cycling Trip Through France. This travel memoir features a time in my life that served as the bridge between my Paris life and the life I’ve come to know today. It is a story of personal growth and transformation. People are finding it to be a fun read, too—voilà!

As a special thank you to you, I am offering the eBook version of A Tour of the Heart free today, Thursday, August 14. Please note that you do not have to have an eBook reader to download it.

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