Due to infrequent and unreliable internet (and travel), I have not been able to post for a while. This post will catch us up to today – my last official day of sabbatical – but it will not be my last post. I am still elaborating some of my thoughts and emotions, so I will share them post-sabbatical.
Tragedy
In the not quite 3 weeks that we were in Italy, tragedy almost struck 3 times.
The first near miss was when our beloved dog somehow got out (the how is still a mistery) and ran off. It was late and we had people form all over the beach village looking for him. This is the dog that twice now we have not been able to bring with us because of the time of year we travelled. He has been keeping my mother-in-law company for the last 2 years and we still hope to get him here eventually. To lose him to a freak escape would have been quite a blow to all of us. Thankfully, we found him and he was unharmed. No doubt he was chasing some girlie dog.
The second almost tragedy was quite a bit more serious. The family beach house is over 30 years old and has sadly not always received sufficient maintenance since my husband’s father died. The electrical is dodgy and since we are dealing with 220 instead of 110, much more dangerous. My husband and I did some upgrades a few years ago and increased the general safety, but if you put a washing machine and a water heater (on an extension cord) together on a splitter on the same outlet, you might have problems. One day, I started smelling a funny burning plastic smell in the kitchen and I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from for the longest time. it got stronger, so I kept following my nose until I found smoke. The extension cord plug was melting itself and the splitter. I immediately shut the electricy off and detached the plugs. On of our neighbors had experience, so he came over and changed out the plugs and we found separate outlets for the two machines. What was the scariest about the plug melting was not the possibility of a fire – the houses are not wood, so you have more time to put out a fire – but that the gas tank for the stove was right there by the outlet. I doubt there was a leak, but had there been one, and a fire had started, it would have been a bomb.
The third event is kind of funny. We were at the beach relaxing one day, but there was what was called “land wind.” I don’t really know what it is called in English, so translated it literally. It creates a dangerous sea and funny air currents on land. There we were minding our own business – Ilaria running around playing, Massi and his cousins standing around chatting, and me lounging on the beach bed thingy (under the nted beach umbrella). Suddenly a gust of wind (that I didn’t even feel) pulled our umbrella off its base, twirled it around like in a tornado, and dropped it on my head. It had whacked Luisa, my husband’s cousin, but she got the broad side of the pole. I got the end of it straight down on my noggin. It hurt like crazy and I iced it, but it didn’t break the skin or knock me out or anything. It was a bizzarre event for sure and I’m glad it hit me and not Ilaria.
Trial
While we definitely rested and enjoyed our time in Italy, I personally felt attacked quite a few times. I mentioned in an earlier post that I suffered anxiety attacks the first few nights. That was only one of the types of attacks I felt. As I studied and read, I begin to focus and make decisions. As we went through our time there at the beach, my husband I solidified communication and proactively discussed our future. We tried to mend strained relationships and build new ones. I don’t believe the enemy liked our attitudes and progress, so we got to ride a roller coaster of trials, gossip, negativity and frustration. That is one of the reasons I am still elaborating some of my emotions. Now that we are back in the States and removed from certain behavioral patterns, I hope to be able to make sense out of “the ride” – if you will.
Triumph
Despite all the drama and emotion, Ilaria thrived and grew. She absolutely blossomed. She began to speak more Italian, she grew in confidence with the water and on the beach. She developed another level of independence. It was a joy and such an encouragement to watch her thrive. She came up against some not nice kids who tried to keep her from playing, and who didn’t know how to share, causing a couple of melt-downs, but we worked throught them and she grew in her social skills. She made friends and had other kids coming to find her to invite her to play. We joked that in another couple of weeks she would have been commanding the kids on the beach.
My pasta-loving little girl also expanded her culinary repitoire. She now eats what she calls rainbow plate: ham, cheese, carrot sticks, tomato wedges and green olives. She shies away from meat, so she has to eat 3 bites of ham to each bite of the other stuff. She loves the idea of the rainbow plate, so she eats it. I’ll take victories where I can find them. Ilaria starts a new school tomorrow, and I hope her food horizons will continue to expand.
There were other triumphs as well, but I am still sorting them out. For now, I will sign off. There is still a lot to do to get ready to jump back into the normal stream of life tomorrow.
P.S. Ladies, if you are married, I highly recommend The Power of a Praying Wife.