Life is but a dream...

Mme Oger

I was born on the first of May 1947 and my name is Marie-José Oger. It may seem like quite a common identity but I managed at least to fulfill my dream. Since I was a child, holding a pen has for me been something magical and gratifying. At that time we didn’t have paper, but my fervent desire to draw and write led me to express myself on anything I could get my hands on, including for example the house wallpaper! Despite many reprimands from my father, I couldn’t help myself. He decided to cover all the walls with Lino but it didn’t matter because the doors were enough for me. My father understood that nothing could stop me. In an effort to tame me, he began to take me around with him, to teach me various tasks. He taught me to dig the garden, paint the walls, help around the house, etc. These activities were for men, but I enjoyed them!

My mother also played a very important role in my life. She was very busy because of my little sisters, so she wasn’t often able to listen to me but this suited me well enough. I was successful in school, with always one idea in my mind: to make my parents proud of me. Quickly I was entrusted with “big girl” responsibilities. I was able to get to know my mother better and we become more close. She had real maternal gestures and was loving despite her disability. Indeed, my mother never learned to read or write but she said she had never wanted to do so anyway.

I realized how lucky I was to study. Then I decided one thing: later, I would be a teacher and I would teach children how to read and write and to my mother too, so it would perhaps make her life easier and help her discover new things. My mother said she was too old to learn and it wasn’t easy but she did. I decided to apply the same learning methods with my pupils.

My goal was reached: teaching children reading and writing. Actually, sharing my passion was wonderful. Conveying all this knowledge was essential for these children, and it allowed them to receive a gift they would use throughout their lives. It was fascinating to see how each child is different and learns as he wants. I felt useful, even essential, for others. This job was for me what I loved most in the world.

Then the years passed, I had a family, and my children learned to read very quickly. Later, retirement came but it was unthinkable for me to stop doing what l loved. I was bursting with ideas and my imagination was at its peak. The idea came to me to start writing a book, but not just any old novel. It was my gift to my mother for her eighty years, and was the first novel she ever fully read. It is called “La tartine au beurre” (“buttered toast”). Through this book I wanted to thank my parents for teaching me values such as respect and tolerance, essential principles that I later found in my music group.

I joined the Concert Band of Vic-le-Comte twenty five years ago. It is an association where we play music in the community. This association dates from 1865 and has never ceased to exist. The band is made up of a hundred musicians who share each week a common passion: music. Many pieces are played to entertain a large audience. So I decided to write a second book entitled “3 coeurs à la clef” (“Three hearts on the key signature”). It is an account of this association’s 150 year history. I wrote it also to demonstrate that, at a community level, there are values such as respect, tolerance, sharing, friendship, as well as plenty of emotions. When you read in between the “notes”, we discover a beautiful love story!

I then decided to write a third book. The story takes place in a country school made up of just one class, twenty three pupils, including three heroes, or rather their schoolbags. The schoolbags have the ability to speak, preserve, transport, etc. But this is only the beginning of the story…

If I have a piece of advice, it is: believe in your dreams! This is a bit of a cliché, but it sums up my life rather well. I am proud to say that my life was like a dream in which I did what I wanted to do!

Article by Emilie DURAND