"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
My first — and hopefully not my last — trip to Paris wasn't exactly the romantic adventure I'd long dreamed of. For starters, I went alone.
My European vacation began with an 8-hour plane ride — smashed between 2 couples — to visit my friend Christa, whose husband is a military man stationed in Germany. I somehow made my way through customs (after first waiting in the wrong line) and eventually found the baggage claim area in the Frankfurt airport, which is roughly the size of the town I grew up in. "I'm a grown woman, I can do this," I kept repeating to myself under my breath, feeling very small and alone in the sea of foreign faces.
From Germany, Christa and I had planned to take a 2-day bus tour of Paris. But her morning sickness — though the cause of much celebration — made the mere thought of the journey send her stomach into somersaults.
"Wanna go with a friend of mine instead?" she offered. Well, at least Plan B sure beat going alone — or not going at all.
So a couple days later I boarded the German equivalent of a Greyhound Bus with Cherie, another military wife and friend of Christa's. We rode through the night, attempting to sleep in an upright position, with a busload of vacationing military personnel and their visiting friends and family.
We arrived in the City of Light at an insanely early hour and filed off the bus and into a cafe for a typical French breakfast — juice, coffee, and a small crusty croissant. We were sleepy, sticky, and sore after a night on the bus — and still hungry even after our petite introduction to the gastronomic offerings of France. Not exactly the romantic trip to Paris I'd dreamed of over the years — walking hand-in-hand with my beret-wearing beau along the banks of the Seine. In reality, it was single ol' me and a busload of strangers.
But as the coffee kicked in and the day wore on, a surprisingly wonderful vacation unfolded. I got to know Cherie, a neat sister in Christ. I went in with a couple other women in our tour group to purchase some Parisian perfume at a group discount. A military man in our group from D.C. helped Cherie and me navigate our way through the Louvre. And my favorite moment of the trip was when four of us ventured out after the planned events of the day and found a sidewalk cafe. There, in view of the Eiffel Tower, I sat sipping cappuccino with three people I'd known for a whopping 24 hours. I caught them up on trends in the U.S. while these transplanted Americans told me fascinating tales of their adventures for work and play.
So my vacation photos contain me and a bunch of people I'll probably never see again. So my first glimpse of some of the most famous monuments in the world was shared with people who today probably don't remember my name. So what? I was in Paris! And my heart was stirred — no, not for a tall, dark, accented man named Jean-Luc but for a breathtaking city.
I have single friends who have bought a house alone, traveled to Italy alone, and bought matching furniture alone. Sure, we all thought we'd be doing these things with our significant other. But we've learned — through trial and error — that singleness doesn't have to be like a monotonous, never-ending stay in a doctor's office waiting room. There's an abundant life to lead, adventures to take, and other dreams to fulfill.
Who knows, maybe someday if there's a Mr. Right in God's plan for me, we'll venture to Paris together and I'll get to say, "Honey, here's where what's-her-name and I caught our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower!"
Au Revoir!
Camerin Courtney
Sign up for the Singles Newsletter and receive a new article from Camerin plus community updates in your inbox every other week!
