Since arriving back home I have gotten the anticipated
questions like “how was the food/wine,” and “did you have a good trip?” Um, duh!
The food was amazing and HELL YEAH we had a good time. I know people are trying to be polite, but we
learned so much and have so much more to tell you about than just the food and the
wine. We learned the BIG stuff that
everyone learns when they go to Florence, like all about the Medici family and
the famous artists whose works they commissioned. We learned quirky things about Italians and
their way of life – see blogs on mankinis, smoking, and driving. But, what I really value from the experience
is what I learned about myself.
I learned to be proud of the fact that I am an adventurous person. I love talking to people who can’t believe
that I would take two small children to a foreign country whose language I don’t
speak for a month. I always say that a
smile and an ability to play charades/Pictionary will get you far in a foreign
country. Plus, we all know that I could have
a blast in a cardboard box as long as I was with the right people. And I had the luxury of being with three of
my favorite people for some, or all, of the trip!
I learned it is okay for the kids to know that I don’t have
all of the answers. There can be a lot
of anxiety in the unknown when traveling – not knowing where you are going, not
knowing what you are ordering/eating, and not knowing what is going to happen
next. Kids like expectations and take
comfort in knowing that an adult is in control and they are protected. While I always took care to make sure the kids
were protected and safe, I felt it was important for them to understand that I
couldn’t always give them an expectation for what was going to happen. It was a great lesson for all of us to work
on just rolling with the punches. Our lives
are so controlled and scheduled when we are home, it was just so freeing to go
with the flow, embrace the moment, and try new and unknown things.
The most important lesson that I learned was that I can be
patient. I am not typically known for my
patience. I usually want things done my
way and NOW (or even better, done yesterday).
I am what you would call a queen bee – I see everything, I like to know
everything, and I like to be the unofficial police for the “stupid people.” You do something stupid, I am going to call
you out. This personality trait is undoubtedly
what will drive Tom over the edge someday, but I know that it is what he
admires about me too. I definitely
believe that my lack of patience is also tied to my desire to get stuff done –
I am a typical type-A doer. I was the
girl that most people wanted as a partner for a group project in school – I would
take on the hardest tasks so they would get done, I would pick up the slack of
others and I would generally make sure the project was all nicely tied together
with a big, pretty bow on top. But,
sometimes these personality traits work against you, like when a situation
calls for patience.
Being in Florence allowed me to embrace the duck I didn’t
know existed within me. I truly, for the
first time in my life, learned how to just let things roll off my back. I learned to set my personal bubble a lot
smaller – in a city, even one as small as Florence, I would have been completely
overwhelmed if I tried to concern myself with anything outside of a one block
range. Because the safety and well-being
of my kids had to come first in this foreign setting, I had to lay off the “look
out for all the little guys/underdogs/etc.” and just focus on my people. And, ultimately, I had to just let go of my
control freak tendency and enjoy the moment in which I found myself. As travelers, we often rush from one thing to
the next, checking off tasks or sights as we go. I noticed that short-term travelers in
Florence (those staying for only a few days) were constantly running from one
place to another, wheelie bag in tow, trying to see it all/do it all and not
really enjoying the moment and what was before them. Having limited our basic activity to one
major thing per day, I found myself having to stretch our day’s activities out
a little. This allowed all the time in
the world for the kids to linger on an activity they loved and further explore
something they found interesting and for me to just take joy in their
happiness.
The final thing that I learned was how our journey has
touched the lives of so many. I get
tickled pink when someone tells me that our trip has reignited their desire to
travel and more fully experience life. I
also love getting all of the messages from folks who have traveled to Florence
and express their joy in seeing it again through our eyes. I also appreciate every person who patiently
listens to me, Bella, or Scarlett talking on and on and on about some aspect of
our trip. Your kindness in letting us
have our moment to personally share our experiences with you is much
appreciated.
