"Savor It"

"Savor it", I was told.  "Now is your opportunity to savor all the things you loved about Europe."  

And so it goes.  A new chapter.  The next phase.  A remarkable journey that is about to begin...

But how did it start?  Here is my story...

When I married Kevin, I knew I was marrying an adventurer.  A risk-taker.  Someone who loves to explore, try new things, and push the limits a bit.  I married him anyway.  J

Kevin is the reason I have a passport.  He’s the reason I’ve been to Mexico, camped in the Appalachians for days without showering (gross, I know), and, the biggest, spent an entire summer in Europe with only a backpack on my back.  And I will tell you, those memories will always be some of the very best I could ever have.  Our summer abroad ranks right up there with marriage and the births of my daughters – and I don’t feel bad about that!  I learned so much about different cultures, different places, different people, and myself during that summer that it is almost as huge to me as other rites of passage in my life.  I stepped WAY out of my comfort zone to explore and be an adventurer right alongside this guy I knew I loved.  And, it’s funny, because while in Rome we each threw a coin  into the Trevi Fountain “guaranteeing” a return visit.  And then, in Florence, we (drunkenly) locked a padlock onto the Ponte Vecchio “ensuring our love forever”.  And so here we are.  Returning to Italy…still in love.

I’ve known that a foreign assignment would be a dream come true for Kevin.  He lives for adventure, absorbs culture like a sponge, and wants our family to have a story filled with exciting chapters.  So, it was no surprise to me when he mentioned Italy.  It was almost a year ago when the idea of the opportunity first came up.  We spent hours talking about it, but I told myself I couldn’t worry too much about it because it was just an idea.  Nothing more.  The bottom line at that point was “I’ll take Italy over Asia anyday!”

But then, many months later, it became much more than that.  I was sitting in my hair stylist’s chair (of all places) when Kevin called and told me The News…that he got the assignment in Torino.  I was speechless.  Tears came to my eyes.  I think I mumbled something like “I’m moving to Italy” to my hair stylist that I’ve known all my life.  The rest of the haircut is a blur.  I know I called Danielle, but I just left her a message…probably inaudible between the flow of tears – both happy and sad.

I got home and we sat on the couch while Kevin enthusiastically told me as much about the assignment as he knew.  I didn’t say a word.  Not one single word.  It wasn’t real to me at that moment – it hadn’t sunk in.  And so I sat…silently.  I don’t think I said much to Kevin that night – probably just went to bed with my mind swirling.  I don’t think I cried in front of him, but there were definitely tears.  My first thought was “my kids”.  How could I raise kids in another country – even if only for a couple years?  How will they manage the differences?  Who will they play with?  How can they be away from their family and friends here?  I still don’t know the answer to any of those questions.

Over the next couple of days, I told my mom, my sister, the rest of my family and friends, and Kevin told his.  My heart sank each time.  My stomach churned.  Not because I was 100% dreading The Move, but because I knew I would no longer be just a short drive away from these people that I see on a weekly basis.  My girls would be 4, 284 miles from the people they love.  I didn’t know how to accept this…let alone be excited about it!

But, over time, and after talking to many people about it (with plenty of tears and alcoholic beverages!), I have accepted it.  And I am excited about it.  Of course it will be hard to be far from home.  It will be extremely hard to be far from family and friends.  Thank goodness for technology, right?!?  But, everyone has been so supportive – acknowledging the cons, but building excitement for the pros.  Even my mom.  And if you know my mom, you know that’s a big statement!  She doesn’t miss her grandson’s football games.  She’s at every one of Zoey’s gymnastics classes.  Rarely a week goes by that she doesn’t visit her granddaughters (oh yeah, and me).  We just can’t imagine it any other way.  And I had to tell her that I’m moving to Italy!  But that’s the incredible thing about family…the first thing out of everyone’s mouths was positive (even though they were probably thinking the negative!).  It’s definitely not all positive, in my mind, but it helped that the people who are close to me reacted by first focusing on the bright sides.  Yes, we’ve had plenty of time to talk about the difficult parts – they can’t be ignored – but it’s nice that we try not to dwell on those while we’re together.  I think the quote that will stick with me forever is “You better come back.”  How nice that people aren’t ready to get rid of me!

It’s been about four months since we first decided to take the leap and give Torino a try.  It still isn’t real…and according to my language tutor (she’s more of a friend at this point than just a tutor!), it probably won’t be until Kevin, Zoey, Kaia, and I are standing on our new doorstep and we turn the key.  To cope with the hugeness of it all, I like to think of it as a really long vacation.  People are always excited about vacations, right?  As Emanuela says, this is an opportunity to “savor it” – to savor all the things we loved about our summer in Europe.  I am excited to immerse myself in a different way of life.  Of course I’ll miss the conveniences and familiarity of my way of life, but it’s a challenge I can tackle.  I look forward to the food, the wine, the cafes, the fountains, the gelato.  Strolling through Italian streets, visiting new places, experiencing new things.  I can’t wait to take pictures – to carry my camera everywhere and capture the once-in-a-lifetime moments that we’ll encounter...to be able to show my girls a piece of their childhood that is so out-of-the-box pictures can’t do it justice.  I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to “live bigger” – something I vowed to do a few years back when I walked the 3-Day for a Cure.  I have worries, but I can’t focus on those.  I will do my best to make the most out of this opportunity we’ve been given!  We threw those coins back in 2004…and ten years later, we’re going back.

But wait, there’s more!  Shortly after telling friends, Jessica called me and said that her husband was going to interview for an overseas assignment…IN TORINO ITALY!!!  Are you kidding me?!?  I couldn’t believe it because it seemed too good to be true.  Jessica and I tried not to get our hopes up, but of course we read into all “the signs” that seemed to say it was meant to be.  And then we waited.  And waited.  And waited for Their News.  And at 10:16 am on St. Patrick’s Day, Jessica called me….

To read Jessica's story AND to follow our adventures, visit Sisters by Choice...Italy by Chance .