Written on October 24, 2011:
At 4:30 am, the jet had lagged me. I read a little. Did some dishes. Then decided to make a few steaks. Now I’m drinking a glass of wine. It’s 6am. Is this normal?
It’d be 3pm in Rome, about the time I’d be sitting down to have a drink and a snack. So I’m going to say that yes, this feels normal now.
Because once you experience Italy, nothing is as you knew it to be before. Everything is different. Suddenly the smell of possibility is alive in your nose, like fresh baked bread on a cobble stoned corner or homemade bolognese on your plate. The idea that you have to do something you don’t want to do has less pressure because you know now; you know that life is so short and every moment must be savored. So f*ck it. Do what makes you happy. Time is the most precious part of life that we’ve got. La bellezza di non fare nulla has an entirely different concept than it did two weeks ago because I am finally able to be fully present. And thank God for giving us Italy to teach me that. Hopefully this is always normal.
So here I sit. Fast forward a few years, late at night, or in the morning, I’m not sure. I am sure that in one week I’ll be headed back to the land of the best olive oil and amazing shoes and a landscape full of people who talk with their hands and lead with their hearts. Italia. My favorite place on the planet [for so many reasons but mainly] because when I’m there, I’m forever in the moment.
