1 Year to Go

Well, it is July 1. Its a day of mixed emotions for me.

You see, one year from today we will arrive back in the US after living in Italy for 2 years.

My goal has been to focus on each day and not count down...and I won't. This will be one of the few times I mention it. I want to live each day and not worry about what will happen in a year.

On the other hand, its kind of weird knowing that each day we now have in Italy, will be our last. This will be our last summer, our last July.

Moving to Italy was a huge undertaking. It came with many postives and some negatives, but overall it was not that hard. Moving back to the US will be harder I think. When we moved here, we knew we would be returning. When we move back, we won't be returning to Italy (well, I'm pretty sure the odds of us visiting Europe are very high now that we have lived here).

What do I most look forward to when we move back: friends and family. That is what I miss most. Other than those two things, I would love to stay in Europe for a few more years. I'm a bit jealous of all the international families at Brandon's school who live in a country for 2 - 5 years, then move to a new country. I think I'd really like that. I'm sure of it.

On the other hand, I miss friends. I miss my friends at train club and my good friend Andy. I miss our good friends - the Noel family. I miss all of our friends I miss my family, and although we only saw them once or twice a year in Oregon, that is more than we have seen them while living here.

So, I'm sure I will share more of these thoughts as they come up in the next year, but for now I am not counting the days. We have too much to do, too much to see and too much to enjoy in our one year left.

Ciao from Italy.