9:30 Steps of the Duomo...
I have always been a family oriented person. I was the one that would make place-cards and
elaborately set the dining room table to encourage my family to sit and eat as
one. I have helped plan countless reunions and birthday parties over the years.
My family is who I am and is the strongest force in my
life. Their unconditional love, words of wisdom, prayers, and reassurance has
helped make me the woman I am today. So that being said, spending this length
of time away from them has been trying.
While living in Croatia, the beautiful landscape,
constant activity, and nurturing souls around me manifested a new family. This
sense of comfort and security kept my mind off of my loved ones at home. During
our backpacking travels, this family grew even more compact and stronger.
Yet after my arrival in Italy, I realized that I was now
truly on my own. I had to create my own life, find new friends and build new
relationships. I am eternally grateful
for the wonderful people I have met and bonds I have formed here in Italy; they
have made this transition into the next part of my journey graciously easy.
Even with the love I am surrounded by in Italy and the
relationships I have built that are scattered across the globe, nothing
compares the joy I felt having my sister and brother-in-law visit me in
Florence. My older sister, Leah, and her
husband, Mike, celebrated their honeymoon in Italy a year after their memorable wedding and were kind enough to incorporate me into their trip.
One afternoon I met Leah and Mike in the Piazza
Repubblica outside of work. Seeing their faces was beyond comforting and
instantly renewed my spirit. It was a strange sight as first – having two people
from my previous life in the States planted right in the middle of my new life
in Italy. However, the peculiarity of this reunion was dissolved by the
tremendous outpouring of happiness among us.
Leah has been my rock over the years. With time our
relationship has transformed from typical catty sisters to best friends. She has
been my role model, my cheerleader, and my protector. She has offered advice when I sought guidance
and offered silence when I needed to vent. She has provided a roof over my head
when my job reached an abrupt end. She knows my dreams, my secrets, my fears,
and my values. We do not try to change each other, but rather encourage one
another to develop and grow in this life.
I am fortunate to share my beautiful sister with her
loving husband, Mike. He admires and cherishes her just as everyone else in her
presence does. Their college partnership has flourished into a sound marriage –
one that is filled with quirkiness, laughter, and immense love. Their
relationship has been through every battle and has come out the victor each
time.
Just as our times spent in the States, the three of us
enjoyed each others company with ease and laughter. Leah persisted we indulge
in the best Gelato and planned our explorations in Tuscany. Mike kept us in good spirits with his humor
and educated us on Italian automobiles and architecture. I happily served as
the tour guide and third wheel on their honeymoon. The weekend was full of delicious food, sight-seeing,
a wine tasting in Tuscany, and plenty of gelato – it couldn’t have been more
perfect.
Each of our lives have changed for the better over the
previous six months - with new jobs and new homes. Yet whether
we are in the Bronx, Arizona, Connecticut, or Italy, our relationship has and
will always stay the same. At every
phase of my life they have been there for me as a support system and as companions.
So as we were to meet at 9:30 on the steps of the Duomo in
Florence, I know I will meet them again for another memorable weekend in
another country on my journey.
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