Monet's Garden

This was a spiritual journey for me. As a young girl I became obsessed with Claude Monet and his Japanese bridge on the lily pond. When I was 11, my family spent three weeks camping in France. My father took extra care to ensure that we would have time to visit Giverny so that I could see Monet’s garden.

On our arrival, full of anticipation, I ran up to the museum, only to find it closed that day for repairs. Tears were instant and fierce.

Yesterday and 20 years later, my lover brought me back to the same spot, only it was open. This early morning as we left Normandy, the fog rolled so thickly onto the valleys that we couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of us. As the trees and hills slowly revealed themselves, I though of Monet walking this very road over a hundred years ago, overcome with beauty, and inspired to create. The tears came again for me.