Benvenuto in Italia (Welcome to Italy)

I promised myself I would write every day in Italy. So here I am, DAY ONE, staring at the blinking cursor and suddenly finding I have no idea what to write about. Isn’t it funny? Even in the midst of one of the biggest changes and most unbelievable opportunities of my life, I could suddenly find myself struggling to fill a blank page… 

I could write about our welcome to Italy, or what a wonderful place Tuscany is. I could write about how we sought a transfer here for over a decade before my husband got this one (persistence pays off). I could write about how good the air smells here or how much I’m loving twice-a-day pizza and five-times-a-day caffè con cioccolato (may need to reexamine that habit).

I’d like to write about everything that transpired to get us here, but not today. I’d also like to write about stress and managing fear in the face of upheaval, but not now. And I’d like to write about big, hairy, audacious goals, but not yet.

At the moment, I’m mostly thinking about gratitude. Gratitude for wins long sought and hard won. Gratitude for a welcoming community here and supportive friends and family back home. Gratitude for today – spent walking back and forth between appointments, soaking up the Tuscan summer sun, smelling the flowers, watching the lizards scuttle, and listening to the soft breeze, carrying sporadic notes of conversation from this very quiet and surprisingly underpopulated area. Gratitude for a series of early and mostly botched attempts at communicating in Italian, the most beautiful language on earth. Gratitude for everything. Every single thing.

That’s all for today. Piu domani.

Welcome to Italy!