Thursday, March 31, 2011

Ho pensato* ..

*I've been thinking, not all that unusual despite what a few of my friends may think, that I  haven't done too much in the way of postings lately. When I look at the sidebar I realize that this month's entries have been sparse upon the ground.  There have been several reasons for this - you'll notice I said reasons not excuses - chief of which has been that this has been one of the busiest times in the past four years.  There have been guests (always welcome so not a problem), events have piled up one on top of the other  (opera, a cheesecake cooking class at the house, the Roma Marathon, private tours of a few choice sites here in Roma etc.), it was Laurent's 55th birthday this month (which involved two great dinners and a few other carryings-on), the celebrations of March 17th and the news that we would be going back to Ottawa this summer.  It has made for a busy month both physically and mentally.

It also means that I have let many things slip - blogging, responding to e-mails and even leaving comments on friends blogs.   With the former I am not at a loss, god knows, for subjects just for the time and inspiration.  For the e-mails I am ashamed and have a few people that will be receiving e-mails that will begin with heart felt apologies for ignoring the senders.   For the later I want to assure all my friends - David, Debra, Jacque-Sue, Yvette et al - that I do read your blogs faithfully just that often the only thing I can think to say in the way of a comment is "thank you for posting" - hardly the wittiest or most intelligent response to the hard work that goes into writing a posting.

The move involves compiling a complete inventory of everything that will be shipped back to Canada, finding a house to live in, arranging travel for the Hounds from Hell in the summer months when many airlines won't transport animals and a checklist of things that fills three pages of single spaced items.  Fortunately I have Laurent to keep me on track when I threaten to go off the rails about things and he in turn has me for those moments when hyperventilation sets in.

And to be honest at this point the news that we would be returning to Ottawa, though not unexpected, has led to a minor period of depression.  Life here has been incredible, and frankly charmed, on so many levels and though I knew it would eventually come to an end I tend to put that sort of thing out of my mind until I run smack into it.  As things slowed down a bit at the start of this week I was having time to think.  But before I got myself into too deep a funk I received an e-mail from a friend who in two sentences gave me some perspective on it.  Dayle and I met through tragic circumstances which I will not rehearse at this time but out of that tragedy came a friendship - though we have only met face to face once I think our notes back and forth in the past four years allow me to call it that.  I'm not sure how she sensed how I was feeling this week but sense it she did and wrote:
You guys have had a great 4 yrs chocked full of good times and wonderful memories.  Remember to think of what you have had - not what you are losing.
Cara Dayle many thanks for that reminder - it was needed and timely. 

Now to sit down and work on: the inventory, a few postings and those e-mails.

31 marzo - Sant'Amos



3 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Yes, Ottawa is not Rome but then, what is?

Welcome back to the Motherland!

yvette said...

Even when you do not post, it is always a great joy to tour your own land, so many rich pages, so much humanity! Do not worry and keep serene with this precious help you have! Happy Birthday Laurent (it is late I know, sorry)! If you manage to come back to these southern shores, I do hope to see you both one day, in Aix-en-provence!

David said...

Glad to hear you're more or less OK - it becomes such a habit to expect to hear from you, but of course we shouldn't, though your generosity of spirit is rare enough, as I've said before, in my experience of the blogging world, and your enthusiastic response is enough. I suppose one way to look at it is that without those same exceptional circumstances that limit your time there, you wouldn't have had it at all.

And I know it's no consolation to compare with completely different situations, but I do so admire my friend Mary, wife of Roberto and mother of three, who had to deal with his removal back to Washington after five or so blissful years back in his home city, Rome - and not just the children's varyingly stricken responses, but also the distance from both sets of parents. But outward circumstances are no litmus-test for inward mood.