What I learned in Florence

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.