From the age of 15 to 18, you're a person in the making, and it was YOU, at the École des Roches, who helped me become the woman I am, when I was far from my parents.

When you were appointed heads of house at La Guichardière, we were skinned little cats, a little lost in the midst of so many boys.

You immediately established a climate of trust and, above all, a genuine dialogue. Thanks to you, I quickly understood that in the two-year old's stammering co-education, "girls don't count for shit" and that the boys, whom you called "young puppies", had to treat us with respect, without mockery or inappropriate gestures or words.

We felt understood, and you succeeded in making us understand and love boys better, in the turmoil of adolescence, which is so different for each of us.

After that, you welcomed our "big coups" and always defended our choices to our parents: what advocates! We never felt like hiding anything from you.

But more than anything else, I realize that the climate of trust and great affection you created enabled you to "set the bar very high" in your demands on some of the girls, including myself, Christine Dodier, Elisabeth Gaffié and Stéphanie Garandeau (among others). Between the ages of 15 and 16, we became "captains", responsible for around ten girls. A real challenge, because "our" girls were quite young, and relied on their captain for everything.

This commitment, which we have embraced wholeheartedly, didn't come about spontaneously. I've just reread all my school reports, and on each one I was entitled to a comment from the head of the house (you, in this case!). They said, "Flore has acquired maturity and a sense of others. We're counting on her A LOT next year", "we trust Flore, well rested from her vacation, to keep La Guichardière tidy, orderly and in good spirits", "Flore helps us a lot to maintain the harmony of La Guiche". How could I not get involved in the life of La Guiche?

After those wonderful years at the École des Roches, you always followed us, never making us feel guilty if we drifted apart. Every phone call seemed to bring you unspeakable, wildly infectious joy.

And in that moment with you, we felt "UNIQUE".

My dear Jeanne-Thé, if I have often confided in you, as in a second mother, you once confided in me in one of your letters. Allow me to share these few lines with all those who have loved you so much: "Try talking to your parents. When we're very young, a certain modesty prevents us from telling them everything (or almost everything), and when they're no longer there to listen to us, we realize that they must have suffered, missing out on moments of tenderness, heart-to-heart exchanges and therefore happiness. And you see Florish darling, I find that we "False Parents", not having our own children, are very spoiled because you have confided in us. You talk to us, and sometimes all it takes is a word or even a wink for complicity and understanding to develop. This helps to heal certain wounds.

My dear Jeanne-Thé, you've put Jean's legendary patience to the test, making him wait all these years.

And I'd like to thank Jean for his patience, which has enabled you to be with us for so long, with your fabulous memory intact.

With you in my heart, I'll always be 15, and that's wonderful!

Florish