Today is 5 + months since we put our offer in on our home – sight unseen – during a world wide pandemic. Today is 2 months since we arrived in Rome, and drove to a little village we had never seen nor heard of. A charming little village called Poggio Nativo. Today is exactly 1 month since we arrived back home in Florida from this incredible experience. What has all of this done to us? How did our relationship withstand the storm. Did our marriage survive this whirlwind?
To say it was all rainbows and sunshine would be a complete lie. To say it had its challenges would be an understatement. I would be able to say in confidence that we literally had no idea what each new day would bring. We did not purchase a ruin – however, we were not expecting to immediately deal with major plumbing and electrical issues. Like day 1. Seriously, night 1 we ended up frantically searching for an airbnb, at 8:30 pm. No water, No electric.
So, how do you mentally go into a situation like this? Blindly? 👀 Expecting everything to work out perfectly? Or, prepare for the worst- but hope for the best. How about realizing things are going to happen, but it’s not the end of the world when they do. Do you know how easier said than done that task actually is? Come on…..when you’re homesick, exhausted from traveling, not sleeping in your own bed, missing your kids, unable to communicate in your new surroundings….the list goes on. The list of things going against you is quite large. But, if you are lucky enough to have a partner in crime you are ahead of the game. You have someone to share the insanity with.
Mike and I have taken on many different life challenges. I would absolutely admit without shame or hesitation, I am the dreamer.
I’m the daydreamer, but doer too. I don’t just daydream and wish and talk about it forever. I feel like why not follow through with some of those dreams. Have I made quick decisions before? Absolutely. Do I have regrets? Honestly I don’t. Some people are fully content living their lives and staying where they are planted. Others, get the itch to try something new. Who’s to say what is best. There is no answer for that question. You do you is a real thing. What is right for someone, is not right for someone else. But, you have to do what is right for you. When you realize how truly short life is, it can help put your dreams in order. You have to find the courage to follow through with them.
So we did. We followed a dream, our dream. Did we dream big? Absolutely!! Did we have our moments? You know those moments when you’re spending so much time together and you just need to come unglued, on each other. In those moments you’re either going to drive a 10′ foot pole between each other OR, you are going to grow even closer through it. But, is that even possible anyway?
Does your partner in crime encourage you to dream? I look at Smartie and I think about how truly different we actually are. I said earlier, I’m the dreamer. Every crazy dream I have come up with, has absolutely been my idea. Has Mike gone along? Yes, always. Has Mike ever talked me out of my dreams? Nope, never. He supports me and stands behind me. I think he is behind me to catch me when I fall or collapse lol. All kidding aside, he is ALWAYS ready to catch me when I collapse and lose my sh*t….when I have my mental breakdowns🪡. Yes those come! Yes, they even came in Italy. One was on facetime talking to my best friend Kim (In Boston). Usually, Mike will let me have my meltdown. He’ll give me a moment (or 2) to pull up my big girl pants and suck it up buttercup. He brings me back to reality and reminds me that “it will work out”. Like the time we sold our 3000 sqft home in Florida and moved to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. We moved into a 1300 sqft Cape Cod style home. While we were moving in, I had one of my meltdowns crying “we don’t fit”…..Mike calmly hugged me and with a very reassuring tone said “We do fit, our stuff doesn’t fit, we are coming from a house double the size of this one”. We ended up making 4 Burbank Street in Sandwich, Ma., the coziest little Cape full of charm and character…and I loved every 1300 sqft of it.
Mike isn’t as emotional as I am, most men are not. He too has his moments though. When he was “in the weeds” of home renovations….in Italy, there were moments. When the plumbing wasn’t working and our water was flowing out of the stone facade down the street….. When the electric was failing and we blew more fuses more than “Carter has pills” lol. When the water was flowing from the kitchen ceiling (from the upstairs shower) that I had just taken….while Mike was in the kitchen cutting wood…yes, there were some moments. Did it bring us closer together? Or, did it make us want to run for the Tuscan hills..separately…….in different directions.
This weekend I sat and finished my scrapbook for our “Italian dream home journey”. I enjoyed laughing at moments I caught on camera, some not so glamorous. Regardless, every moment we spent there was truly amazing. Looking back on it now, we went through this together. His moments came on my off days….thank God! We never had a day that we both were just so grumpy & miserable and we allowed that misery to turn into regret. That, I am truly grateful for. But, Mike and I are not that way. We seem to weather the storms we face pretty much head on. We may look a little banged up and battered lol, but we understand it’s all apart of the process. No water….no problem. Use the shower upstairs. That is until the kitchen ceiling starts leaking 💦 lol. No electric….no problem, we just had to learn what we could use with something else plugged in. That was until we met our amazing friends, Lida & Stephano! A little Italian electric 101 and our problems were solved!! Thanks guys.
I wanted to do a page of how we each felt about this journey. What were our emotions and feelings, now a month since we came back home. I know how I felt, I’m very vocal. I share everything. I wear my heart on my sleeve. If I’m excited, it shows. If I’m about to have a meltdown while carrying an overflowing IKEA bag down my street ….switching back from laughing hysterically to crying uncontrollably…..it doesn’t matter who is around lol. If it’s coming, it’s coming. Mike isn’t that easily read. I gave him a piece of paper and a pen the other day. I put a photo I took of him one night. We had our nightly “rummy card game” with a glass (Or bottle of wine). He was happy in the photo after a very stressful day. I’m going to share with you what Mike’s wrote. Maybe it will surprise you how he truly felt about our time in Italy.
Just reading that made me feel even more love for what we did. I truly can’t wait to return. I can’t wait to see familiar faces and furry friends. I can’t wait to be completely overwhelmed, yet beyond excited all at the same time. I’ve been asked if I have any regrets. I can now ~ even a month later tell you honest to God ~ I have not one. After reading Mike’s true feelings on this whole thing….I can confidently share he has zero regrets!
Whatever it is you may be thinking about in the privacy of your own thoughts, if it’s a dream in your heart….follow it. Don’t be afraid of the “what if’s”. Life is one big “what if”. But, what if you don’t ever follow that tug on your heart. You’ll never know what’s around the corner. Or what adventure may be waiting for you. You’ll never know just how much your partner in crime loved it too. I can’t imagine going through this thing called “life“ without Mike. I am truly blessed to have someone who will go along on my wild and crazy dreams. And be behind me when I collapse like a lunatic. But, he is always behind me. The only time he isn’t there, is when he is beside me. Holding my hand and helping make our dreams come true. Like buying a home (sight unseen) in Italy, during a flippin world wide pandemic! We did it Smartie!! We actually did it.
Ciao friends.
