End of the school year

        Wednesday, June 12th was our last day of school. We got out 1 hour and 15 minutes early. It's weird to get out of school in the middle of the week, and 1 hour early.          
         I wasn't the only one leaving/moving schools. 2 other girls in my class are moving schools, plus a girl in the other class, 1 boy in my class, and 2 boys in third grade.

         One of my BFF's who I've known since preschool was crying on my shoulder. I told her it was perfectly fine with me; she just needed someone to lean on, and that's what friends are for. She was crying because she didn't want me to go to Italy. I wanted to cry so bad, but for some reason I couldn't. I remember when she asked me not to forget about her. Why would I do that? of course I will never forget about my best friends, but I still am excited to make friends in Italy!

"I would never forget about you, and you will never forget about me!" 

T-Minus 33 Days, and 5561 Miles!

For years we have been dreaming and scheming this plot to live in Italy for a year. What would it look like? Where would it be? All those details were unknown. The only certainty came in the form of images dancing in our minds: cobble-stoned walkways, sun rays beaming down into our half-finished glasses of Chianti (or melting our gelato ;-) , and the melodic, energetic language in the background that would slowly morph into one we could understand fluently. And truth be told it was easy to feed this fantasy -- far easier than making it a reality.

But feed it we did, with a steady diet that must've included enough servings of reality... Because the combination of research, legwork, the generosity of folks who have aided along the way, and the gauntlet of applying for our visas finally paid off two weeks ago. The prize came in the form of a 9" x 12" USPS Express Mail envelope containing our passports with 4 Italian Visas attached. You may have heard the collective sigh of relief we breathed that day!

Now, our massive ToDo list is more pressing. With the 30 or so days before we leave the country, we find ourselves feeling the funnel closing in, soon to drop us into our British Airways seats. Aside from packing, we have much to do to prepare our house for renters, while trying to fit in those last coffees and playdates on the calendar.  It's like a mean game of Tetris.  Now that this idea is becoming a reality, we (gulp) know that leaving our friends and community won't be easy -- nor will integrating ourselves into a new community for only a year.  But the stage is set and off we go...