Alright. I really am feeling ready now. After a brazilian loads of laundry (the number not the country), daysanddays of cleaning, packing and re-packing, good-byeing till I thought my heart would literally break (and it’s not over yet…), and a goodly amount of diet coke……
I think I am finally prepared (in the only ways that I know how) to GO. It’s a funny thing, to want something like this soooo badly for soooo long and then when it finally comes, I feel like shying away, backing out, saying no-thank-you-I ‘ll-just-stay-home-if-you-don’t-mind.
But in the end, I do mind. I do want to go to Italy; I do want to paint and draw and take pictures and make art to my heart’s content; I do want to meet new people and learn a small portion of a different language; I do want to ride a mo-ped and eat gilato and gape at the Coliseum just like Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday… Frankly, I want to do it all. So there.

In the words of my seven-year-old alter ego:

“Bye Momma, I’m going on an expedition. I’ll be back in a little while.”