My Dearest Italy

Why didn’t you tell me that you’ve had this incredible landscape, earth shattering cuisine, timeless architecture, and unimaginable beauty just lying around? I mean, people told me, but honestly, I had no idea how truthful they were. Until now.

But I wouldn’t have wanted to go any sooner, because you gifted me something that couldn’t have been appreciated at any other time in my life. So, for that, all my gratitude to you.

This band of mothers….. tired, overwhelmed, stretched thin….. rediscovered their internal voices, were able to put their own needs first for seven straight days, uncovered the confident and deserving woman that had been stifled under layers of desperation to be….. worthy. And there it was.

In your streets, paved with timeworn stone that breathe hundreds of years of life. They carried us as we gazed up at the stunning views towering around us.

In your open waters, that welcomed us and embraced us in its warm and wondrous swell.

In your scenery, splashed across acres and acres of Tuscan land that gripped our eyes and filled them with stunningly beautiful sights that seemed to go on for eternity.

In your summer air, abundant and thick with the fragrances of espresso, leather, warm bread, and vineyards, that poured in to our lunges and hearts.

That intoxicating air. It invoked contagious laughter, dancing in the sand, jumping in the fountain at 3am, buying that sexy swimsuit, and skinny dipping in the sea.

Thank you.

For showing up when I needed you, for showing off in the most humble and remarkable ways, and for allowing us the space and grace to be vulnerable and free amidst your enchantment.

Till we meet again…. all my love, my dearest Italy