Ups and Downs

Each day lately has been interesting.  In the grand scheme of life, I am happy and content.  In the short term, I've been having a lot of ups and downs.  One day I'm happy and excited to be heading home to Corvallis, and the next day I'm sad to be leaving Italy.  Sometimes I go up and down several times in a day.  Katrina and I were discussing this and she's been feeling the same way this week.

I honestly think it will be harder to move home than it was to move to Italy.  When we left Corvallis, we knew we would return.  It was hard leave our comfortable life and routines, as well as our friends and family, but we knew we would be back.

Leaving Italy is a bit more final.  We won't have this opportunity again.  It's been an amazing experience.  We've been able to experience so much more than a two week vacation would have allowed.  I can't help feeling a bit sad each time we go someplace or do something and I know it will be the last time.

Its life.  Life is always changing and this is just the end of a chapter.  A new chapter is beginning for us and I'm excited to see how its going to play out.  We have already discussed how we can create a better travel fund for ourselves.  I can see much more European travel in our future, as well as a few other parts of the world.

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This afternoon I made and delivered popcorn to the grade 2 class.  They won a popcorn party for having the champion limbo winner at the spring disco a few weeks ago.

The clouds are rolling in and I can hear thunder.  We've been having late afternoon thunderstorms that past few days.  I love them and will miss them.  We don't get many thunder storms in the Willamette Valley.

Brandon is on his residential trip.  Today they had a visit to Rile Tenore Olona Park planned, assuming the weather cooperated with them.  They were going to visit the archeological site of Castelseprio, an example of northern Italy history between the time of the Romans and the early Middle Ages.  While there they planned to study ancient construction methods and the natural resources in the forest around them.

Two hours later and the sun is shining brightly through to office window and I crash of thunder has been replaced with the sound of birds chirping.