So French life begins!

I mentioned that the day we arrived, we were in for some big surprises.  Things were not as modern as we expected.  After the nerve wracking ride to our little house in Bry-sur-Marne, Lyndee and I were about desperate to find the little girls room.  When we walked in the door of the house, I turned to Paul and asked him where the bathroom was.  By now Lyndee was dancing a jig and I wanted to dance one but being an adult...
Paul looked at us oddly, and told us the bathroom was upstairs.  So we made our way up there, and found the bathroom.  Oddly, there was a very heavy table sitting over the only thing that resembled a toilet.  I was too embarrassed to ask for help, so I started tugging and pulling until that table was practically leaning into the high, claw-footed bathtub.  As I looked down at that "toilet", I truly had to fight the feeling of fainting.  It had faucets, and a drain!  My mind screamed out, "This just isn't going to work!  I can't deal with this kind of toilet!  I felt like crying, but sat my little girl down on it and when she was done, I turned on the faucets.  Still reeling from the shock, I took her back downstairs and whispered to Don what I thought about that toilet.  When that word came out a bit louder than I had planned, Paul piped up.  "You wanted the toilet?  It is right there behind you!" Embarrassment and relief swept over me, and I opened the desired door. 2nd shock!  The toilet tank was about 6 feet in the air and the flusher was a chain!  The toilet paper was like brown oilskin paper and actually crackled!  "Lord, make me strong!" Was my prayer.  This is getting stranger and stranger!

Life did go on, and one day when Shan was about 2 weeks old, I went to rinse out his double night diaper (only us older folk know about using cloth diapers!)  Well, that 6 ft. high tank had a pull like you wouldn't believe!  It snatched those 2 diapers right out of my hand and down they went, never to be seen again!  I lost it...totally.  We were so poor and I didn't know who we would have to starve to afford a plumber!  I felt like it would have to be me, since Don HAD to go to language school...but then, who would take care of the babies!?! 
When Don came in, I burst into tears! "I'm sorry, hon, really" I wailed!  He held me as I explained.  He was so sweet, but I could see the worry on his face, too.  He went in and pulled the chain 3 or 4 times and all worked smoothly!  We decided the pull of that flush was so strong those diapers were probably half way to the ocean by then!

Cris was my curious child.  That chain fascinated him!  We potty trained him by always holding him up to pull the chain when he was done (yes...we did stoop to such bribery!)  At all other times, we kept the door shut and the kids were not to mess with it.  One day, I heard a small, scared voice crying out, "Help...help me!" With fear clutching my heart, I looked here and there and finally opened that WC door to see my little 2 year old swinging madly and hanging on for all he was worth to that chain.  I hollered, "Hold on baby!  Don't let go!" and I ran to put baby Shan down and caught Cris in my arms, thanking the Lord for His watchcare over my disobedient little man.  I just knew if he had let go, as strong as that suction was, Cris would have been down that toilet...gone...never to be seen again.  I knew from tha moment on, we were going to have to find another house; if Cris was gonna survive!