Well, what are we doing here anyway?

So, to take a step back, it is fair to ask why we are on this adventure. It started several months ago after I'd done a series of business trips in a row. I'd brought home as many snow globes as I could find to make up for my absence and soothe my conscience.

On an ordinary morning, I was leaving the house to go to work and Anna grabbed me by the legs and cried, "Please, Mommy, don't go to work today. Stay home with me." My heart sinks to my stomache again when I remember it.

I have to fix this, I thought to myself. This is the ball that I can't drop under any circumstances. And so began the planning of our adventure.

Today, the girls and I are sitting in our Via Veneto apartment. Sophie is absorbed in the second book of The Five Ancestors. Anna has already performed a play for us and just settled into her Frieda Kahlo coloring book. Grandma arrived today (Yeah! More on Grandma in the next post) and is resting in the next room. One thing I've noticed over the last week is that the girls really like -- maybe even need -- some down time every day.

Sure, magnificent works of art and historical monuments are cool. But, sitting quietly in a park (or an apartment) and reading and chatting is nice too. These are the times we talk to each other, rather than about something else. We have read two novels together so far (thank you, Kindle) over melting gelatos, melt-in-your-mouth confit de canard, while sitting on long train rides and in the shade of olive trees. (We strongly recommend The Five Ancestors by Jeff Stone, The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan and The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley.) We have played infinite rounds of "Guess the Movie" and "Follow the Word." We just bought a soccer ball and are planning to take it to the Borghese Gardens later.

Sophie can get lost in a book and will breathe the life of the characters for days after she finishes. Anna loves puzzles of any type -- word finds, number stories -- her mind gets more restful as she puts things into their proper place. They laugh and perform most freely in the comfort of our own room. The girls negotiate each others' strengths and weaknesses with compassion and expertise (and probably mine, as well). I surely knew these things before we left on vacation. I just didn't get hours at a time to appreciate them. That's what we're doing here.

Sophie said to me the other day (over amaretto gelato), "Mommy, you're different here." I asked her if she could describe how, but she wasn't able to quite put it in words. It's different in a good way, we think. We may have to wait a bit longer (and after several more gelatos) to figure out exactly what she means.