Hi family and friends, Well I have been trying to get myself out of this mood since the beginning of the week. It fluctuates from minute to minute. I constantly think of how lucky I am, how grateful I am, how blessed I am, and the next minute I read or hear something about being a Mom, Grandma, daughter, sister, or friend, and my eyes fill again.... My head understands that this is a normal process for someone who is far away from family and friends, but my heart is hurting....In 17 days, I will be home with them all, so I am going to try and move past these feelings and just live today. I am going to try and put away another box today, but yesterday afternoon as I opened yet another office box (how big was our office??) I found a letter from Keyvon when he was about 8 that he wrote to me. It was a homemade card for some sort of occasion, and I became very emotional....I started reading all of the cards and letters I have saved over the years from my children and Brian....That started an avalanche of emotions again....I am not a sentimental person in that I do not usually keep cards and letters, just occasionally (or so I thought) but there is another box with a lot of stuff in it and I am thinking I will put that one aside until after Christmas. Brian and I are going to an open house Christmas party tonight, and I have to bring an appetizer...The invitation stated that they will be providing a house red wine (lots of it) but if you feel that the house red wine is not good enough for you, you can bring your own wine. I absolutely LOVE that these people just put that out there. Hey, this is what we are having, and if it is not good enough for you, too bad, bring your own! That takes a lot of confidence and I admire that sincerely. No pretense, no defense, just It is what it is. I am trying to let myself be that way...to understand that I am what I am and just try to be the best person I can be without judging myself.... I love people and I absolutely love learning about them. This is why I became a nurse, so that I can mix with people constantly and help them in any way that I can. The people in Italy are fascinating as the culture is so new to me and I learn something new every single day.... I may have mentioned a time or two that Italian men always have their hands on or in their noses....I dont get it! Now that I have made that declaration, I find myself constantly looking for this phenomenon...unfortunately it is abundant....Now dont get me wrong, they do not do this while they are standing there talking to you, but pass someone on the highway and I guarantee that 2 of the 4 men you pass will be touching their noses in some way....Those of you who live here in Naples with us, start noticing, or actually DONT start noticing, because once you do, that is all you can see from then on.... I have found Italian men to be very nice to me, very helpful and very flirty....One Italian guy told me the other day that he noticed my tattoo which is over my heart....He asked me what it was and I told him that it was an heart with an American flag wrapped around it and Brian and my childrens name on the stripes of the flag. He said Oh, I cant help but notice it because Italian men are boob men. I did not know the appropriate answer to that, so I just walked away....Was this flirting? Was this a declaration of Italian men? Was this just conversation? I am not sure, and I always get nervous when someone flirts with me, so I walked away, rapidly..... We were in the Mall so I had no anxiety or fear, just a feeling of What the heck do I say to that? I find that the Italian teenagers (boys) are very nice and they always try to help me out (carry a heavy bag or open the door for me). The younger generation learns English in school, and they love to try to talk in English with someone that speaks the language. I have had some fascinating conversations with Italian teenagers in stores because I am the teacher of the language instead of the other way around....They are usually more interested in the slang words such as wicked, cool, awesome, ...One young man asked me why Americans always says That is wicked good. He was confused as the word wicked translates to evil. That was a fun conversation..... Winter in Italy is the rainy months. It is not very cold yet, up to 60-70 during the day, but the mornings and evenings are colder and the rain is abundant. I have been told that this winter is not normal, but I have been hearing that the weather is not normal everywhere I go for the last 20 years, so I have learned to ignore that and just go with the weather of the day. We have a small water leak in our pantry and the landlord and the maintenance guy are coming today to look at it and see what can be done. It seems to be seeping in from the wall which is under the ground, so I am not sure what they can do. That is the beauty of renting...we just call the landlord, and he has the issue to correct, not us. That is a new concept for us as we have always owned our own homes...I LIKE IT! As soon as they leave (they are supposed to be coming at 11am), I have to head out to buy some sort of appetizer ingredients. I am not sure what to make....I want something that I can prepare, but something that can sit out at room temperature without having to be heated up or cooled down....but it has to be yummy......hmmmmm, not sure. Any suggestions??? I would like it to be American food, not an Italian appetizer as most of the people going are Americans..... As I write this post, my mood is starting to lighten. As I have said thousands of times, words have weight, and I feel lighter right now....Thanks for listening again, and I hope with all of my heart that you all hug your family today, do it for me...... My European education continues.....
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 09:19:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015