Hooray! Caiden & I made it to day 11 of our self-quarantine, just 3 days remain! I must say, we kinda shine at self-quarantining... we did it when we returned to the United States & here we are doing it again. It was much easier last time as it was cold, snowy, I was homeschooling Caiden every weekday & we were back in familiar Truckee-- not in Firenze staring out the windows at all the places we're aching to explore. But, it really is a small price to pay to be back & we believe firmly in doing the right thing & preserving all the hard work the Italians did to get their COVID numbers down to next to nothing.
We find ourselves being extra outdoorsy these days (thank goodness our place is in le colline - the hills - & on acreage). Everyday Caiden swims in our landlandy's pool, we go for a run, walk or bike ride; we've even done some You Tube workouts in the comfort of our living room. We also enjoy a nightly movie together (Matilda, The Greatest Showman, Julie & Julia, 16 Candles, The Tale of Despereaux, Pixar Shorts, Sponge Bob). Every afternoon Caiden builds some new Lego or Minecraft masterpiece, we play a round of Punta, we bake (banana bread & blueberry muffins thusfar), we read, I write. I've even - voluntarily - been summer (home) schooling Caiden-- he's brushed up on fractions & we study Italian together (we've mastered present tense verb conjugations -- boo ya!). We also had socially-distanced pizzas with our landlady & her family (aka Our Special Italian Friends) outdoors. Just being in the company of others was quite a treat.
A couple days ago I researched & planned our first post-quarantine vacanza. Caiden's one request was to go to the beach so our docket includes time in Pescarara & Puglia, specifically Vieste. We're even going to have an overnight stop at the hilltop town of Anghiari, one of the places responsible for igniting my passion & deep love for this beautiful country.
Many moons ago, when I worked for Resort Equities (a Bay Area fractional resort real estate company), they had an exquisite villa in Anghiari & hence, I was 'required' to visit this magnificent spot several times. I have not been back since November 2009, when Steph & I snuck away for his 40th birthday celebration with 5-month old Caiden. I'm greatly looking forward to this reunion & the one that happens days later when Stephen returns to Italia!
Other small perks of quarantine include donning ultra comfy clothes (bra optional), bopping around makeup-less & allowing my hair to exist in its frizzy, wavy, chaotic, natural state.
While 2020 has been a butt-kicker in endless ways, it continues to force me to slow down & cherish easy time at home with the ones I love. I'm certain had the world not flipped upside down I would have been moving at my usual, dizzying, frenzied pace-- wound catastrophically tight & doing most everything but being mindful, or present. So while I'm counting down the days, even the hours, until our deeply-craved FREEDOM, I'm also grateful for another chapter of life's unexpectedly sweet, simple moments.
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