983

14 years ago, in our first month of marriage, I went with Geoff to this store in Paris and bought my first candle.  That first indulgence was not for myself, but a Christmas gift for our Parisian friend Christelle in thanks for letting us take over her apartment while in town.  That purchase did start a bit of a candle love affair that endures to this day.

At the time quality scented candles were new to me, but in the time we lived in London they were one of my enduring everyday luxuries.  When we were expecting Ella I went for a goodbye trip to Paris with my dearest girlfriends and it included a trip to the store to stock up on candles to endure me when I knew I would no longer be able to afford to replace them.

We shipped home our possessions including a big red cardboard box full of candles.  The aroma, when I take of the lid, is still amazing and transports me in time and place.  I have always been very careful about opening and beginning a new candle.  They are heavily perfumed and you don't have to leave them lit for a long time to enjoy their scent, but still, I never want the box to be truly empty.  Geoff and the girls have bought me top ups over the years, but the smell of this particular candle, Pomander, is strongest in the walls of the box and it's all about wintery cold Christmases for me, with its heady mix of cinnamon, cloves and orange.

I will burn the candle just long enough each day to drift through the rooms of our home and mix together with my memories of yesterday, my loves of today and my hopes for tomorrow.