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Julia and me
By Ann | September 25, 2009
I finally saw Julie and Julia this week — it came out in France on September 16 — and I was reminded all over again of how much I love Julia Child. I was also struck by the parallels between Julia’s life and my own.
Julia was a trailing spouse — her husband, the lovely, supportive Paul Child, was a diplomat. His career brought them to France, which she immediately adored. She started cooking because she loved to eat and wanted something meaningful to fill her days.
My husband is also a diplomat, and last year we had the incredible luck of being posted to France, which I adored before I ever set foot here. I started writing about food because I love to eat, and because I needed something meaningful to fill my days.
There is a scene near the middle of the movie where Julia and Paul are packing up their Paris apartment and their sadness at leaving this city, so beloved to them, is palpable. I could empathize, even if that moment hasn’t happened to me yet. One day we, too, will leave Paris, and I already know my heart will break, as theirs did, just a little bit.
Of course, Julia was an original, with her height and charisma, that fluted voice, and sense of adventure. She experienced her share of disappointment, but she accepted it with grace. I don’t aspire to be Julia Child, but I do admire her, as a cook, and optimist, and member of the trailing spouse sisterhood. She’s a reminder that opportunities can appear in the most unexpected ways and places. And that success, much like a good boeuf bourguignon, cannot be created in a hurry.
Topics: Food and Film |
15 Responses to “Julia and me”
Comments
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September 25th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
My mom used to see Julia Child on occasion in our local market on Huron Avenue in Cambridge — what a special, unusual person Julia was! Remember the exhibit of her kitchen at the Museum of American History in Washington? I especially appreciated Julia when CTB and I used to hunker down in Beijing and watch DVDs of Julia and Jacques. Remember when she donned the fire hat to apply the flame to the creme brulee? Is that what they were making?
September 25th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
I too was so happy to see the movie — I was never necessarily a Julia Child fan, I never watched her show, but I was blown away a couple of years ago when I borrowed her book from a (Paris) friend — all the qualities that you describe so well. I identified with the film too, a little bit like you, a little bit like “new married couple in a crappy apartment trying to figure out what life has in store for them.” Love your wrapup here.
How cool that Chris’s mom used to see her in Cambridge!
September 25th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I wonder what Julia Child thought about the huge spectrum of people she influenced in those early cook-show days of her television life when everything was so improvised … she must have realized that from coast to coast everyone watched her program because the markets and kitchen stores would literally run out of the items called for in her recipe after her show aired. From the smallest little southern towns like Chapel Hill, NC where I was to the metropolitan big cities, America watched and learned and was entertained. I haven’t seen the film yet but am looking forward to it. I enjoyed your personalized review.
September 26th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
I adore this movie. I had no idea that Julia Child’s story was going to be such a love story. A copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking was left to me by my sweet sister, who passed away when she was only twenty eight years old, but I have fond memories of the things she cooked using Julia’s wonderful book. My copy was only in it’s seventh print and it was already 1967. Sometimes, I think, destiny comes in the most unexpected and surprising ways.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
I can’t wait to see this movie. Why has it taken me this long? And given the fact that I am bound for a farm in rural TN until mid-Nov starting next week … I may be doomed to wait for its DVD release. Dommage!
September 29th, 2009 at 7:03 am
I used to see her in Cambridge too! I did craft service for film and TV for a number of years in Boston and ran into her often at the Whole Foods in Fresh Pond.
A few of my friends worked on some later shows that were shot at her home in Cambridge. They said it was filled with knick knacks. Are you collecting knick knacks yet, Ann? Get to work!
Also, note to self: find diplomat husband.
September 29th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Chris — I’ve always loved the story of your mom seeing Julia in Cambridge. And of course I remember visiting her kitchen at the Smithsonian! That was one of the highlights of my entire life!
Kim B. — You should check out the show sometime. I also love the shows she did with Jacques Pepin in her later years when she’d argue with him over the best way to make pastry or thicken a stew. She definitely had opinions.
Dad — That is such a neat anecdote — I had no idea stores would run out of ingredients for the dishes she cooked. She really revolutionized cookbooks with her precise quantities and instructions. And I love her philosophy: “Never apologize for the food you serve.” I hope you see the movie soon - you’ll like it!
Kathy — It was a real love story, wasn’t it? Paul was at the heart of her whole life. Have you read Julia’s memoir, My Life in France? It’s a wonderful companion to MTAOFC. I bet your sister would be happy that you still treasure her copy.
Heather — Hm, DVD may not be so bad because then you could fast-forward through the OTHER story and just skip to the Meryl Streep/Stanley Tucci parts. Whoops, did I just say that?
Stephanie — Wow, that is so so so cool that you, too, saw Julia! And that she shopped at Whole Foods!! Sounds like I need to get to work on the knick-knacks. Though my husband has always taken to heart the advice he received very early in his diplomatic career: Buy quality.
Thanks for stopping by, y’all. I’m raising a glass to Julia tonight!
September 29th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I can’t wait to watch this! Although, it is amazing what a pressure cooker can achieve…
September 30th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Ann, I too recently watched the movie. I was really struck by the friendship, passion, and respect between Paul and Julia. I too have been a trailing spouse and know what it is to try and (have to) transform yourself with every move. In some ways it’s liberating - you feel like a chameleon, a powerful, adaptable thing. In other ways, it can feel very lonely, isolating - like you worry you may have no sense of self, or a defining thing that would make you “you.” How important it is then to have that significant other who helps you to remember yourself, and your dreams, who can both anchor you and also help you break out of those sometimes situational shells.
From your writing, I think you have that strong partner! And I think writing itself can sometimes be a surrogate for those times when our better halves can’t be around. Writing, like cooking, allows us to remember, create, and memorialize the best parts of our lives.
September 30th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Ann, This is my first posting. I love your blog. I, too, saw the movie with my 90 year old mother -we laughed and cried. I gave her the first vol of Mastering the Art for Christmas one year. We used to watch Julia’s PBS program on WGBH Boston together all the time. It is great to have such memories of fun things … and food … to be shared. I loved the memoir that is mentioned, written by her nephew, as I recall. I would love to locate her apartment in Paris where I will be this week end.
October 1st, 2009 at 3:24 am
Mallika — Do you mean literal or figurative pressure cooker? Either way, I agree! And I suspect Julia would, too.
Genevieve — Ah, another member of the sisterhood of the traveling household! Thank you for your lovely comment, so beautifully expressed and so true. Another thing that anchors us: friendship. I feel lucky to have found so many via this blog, including you!
Susan — Thank you for reading! I believe Julia’s apartment is at 81 rue de l’Université, in the 7th. There’s a movement to put up a plaque on the building to honor her. Please let us know if you find it!
October 1st, 2009 at 1:27 pm
We had a lady in the bookstore recently who said that her family was the owner of the apartment where the Childs lived when they were posted here to France. She said they were lovely lovely lovely and that they received Christmas cards from Julia and Paul for years after they left here.
(She was also grumbling that the book and/or movie got several things wrong, this after the production company had sent around someone to pose a lot of questions, but I was more struck to have Julia Child’s former landlord talking to me about her!)
October 6th, 2009 at 5:24 am
Kim B., That is SUCH a cool story! Wow, I feel like you’ve been brushed by Julia! Thank you for sharing it.
And I noticed right away that the apartment in the film wasn’t right. At least, based on my recollection of Julia’s memoir, it wasn’t.
October 12th, 2009 at 12:23 am
Although I’m not a cook, actually far from it, this movie touched a special cord with me. I related to the sense of finding personal fulfillment through the development of a passion. Along with Julia and yourself, I too have been at that crossroad in my life/career. I strive to fill my days with the things that are truly meaningful and close to my heart; family, children and flowers.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Bibi — And from what I can tell from your Facebook page and website, you are succeeding! Here’s to nurturing the things (and people) we love!