3 years in Italy.
The lasts
It’s been yet another year since we blogged. Looking back on it, it seems like it’s gone
by pretty fast and this year stands to be no different. We’re now entering “the lasts”. We’re starting to think about the last time
we’ll go to certain restaurants or take a walk through the little town by our
house. The other day, I was thinking
about how this month will be the last time I register the cars and pay Italian
road tax on them. It’s a good
feeling. We’re really starting to miss
being away from the familiarity and normalcy of home. Home as in the United States since we don’t
really know where we’ll end up yet.
Rylan is growing up and his personality is developing faster
than I can keep up with. Right now he’s
really involved with karate and T-ball.
I find t-ball particularly interesting because of the way he holds
himself during the games. He pretty much
just stands there in the field goofing off and is way more interested hitting
the ball than fielding. It reminds me
quite a bit of myself when I played little league.
My shifts flip-flop quite a bit and sometimes I go 3 to 4
weeks without spending a significant amount of time with Rylan. However, when I do, I notice something new
about him that I hadn’t noticed before.
I hope that wherever we go next will be a bit steadier so that I can
watch him grow a little more closely.
Rylan is now a completely fluent Italian speaker. He's now able to recognize that Italian and English are 2 different languages and that two words can mean the same thing to 2 different people who speak different languages. At restaurants he is able to converse with wait staff entirely in Italian without shyness. I'm envious of this gift he's gotten so early in life. However, I'm also a bit saddened by the fact he will likely loose his ability to speak Italian as he transitions into fully English kindergarten next school year. We continually discuss ways we can keep him fluent but it seems unlikely without constant exposure to someone who speaks Italian.
Heather has continually had her hands full. I’m amazed every day at her ability to put up
with me and work, running Rylan around to karate and T-ball all while keeping
up with meals and the housework. It
wears me out sometimes just watching.
So what’s next for us?
The next year will be devoted to the last few visitors we’ll have while
in Italy and getting ourselves financially ready for the next big move. We anticipate the move back to the States
will be easier than it was coming here considering all we really have to do is
leave here rather than worrying about a bunch of stuff we have to sell after
we’re gone.
Our time here in Italy has been, well, an experience. For that, I’ll give some credit. There are good things and bad things. Ironically, the same things I love about
Italy are the same things I hate. I love
the loose traffic laws but hate the dangerous way most people drive. Love the slow, unpredictable nature of
everything but hate it when I really have to get something done like get car
parts or have something fixed. While I
envy many aspects of Italian society, but those same aspects tend to slowly grind
you down.
By the time we leave here, we will have lived in Italy for 4
years. One thing is for sure, it’s just
not home. Every time Rylan mentions
spending time with cousins or grandparents, it just drives a stake in our
hearts and reminds of what’s waiting for us at home.
We'll add one more blog short before we leave here before officially closing our Hasta La Pasta blog and move on to the next chapter of our life.
