Monday, July 16, 2012

Happy Birthday Amore!

July 15th -
Thomas' 33rd birthday. I found a lot in the lyrics of this song that made me think of him:

"You're the best listener that I've ever met, you're my best friend - best friend with benefits.
You held your breath and the door for me, thanks for your patience"



Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Marriage...1 year after.

July 8th 2011 VS. July 8th 2012
Even if you try, you couldn't imagine 2 more extremely opposite situations!
When I started this blog I always wanted to catch up an talk about my wedding day and our lovely honeymoon. But I never did and now, a full year has passed and I can't avoid remarking what a huge - almost bipolar - reality I'm living.
This might sound negative if you picture someone's wedding day as THE perfect day....but it actually isn't that bad of a dualism. July 8th last year was, indeed, the most special day of my life, but July 8th this year hasn't been that bad either.

Everything was different though.
Last year we were in hot sunny Florence, getting married surrounded by our large families and hundreds of friends from all over the world.
This year we're in cold rainy Belgium, in the complete relaxing quiet of Thomas' mom house in the southern suburbs of Brussels. Does it sound depressing? Well it's not for me!
Since our return to Europe we've been extremely busy. Going back home to Italy is a pleasure, but it's always very demanding. We have to meet everybody (and still I have the feeling I haven't seen half of the people I want to see). We usually are invited to a couple of weddings (almost always in the opposite corner of the country). We have to take care of the house (since my sisters in Florence are not really the best housekeepers in the world). Rediscover our lovely garden (surprisingly still hiding underneath a tropical jungle that grows in the winter)...And finally we yearly have to cope with all the illnesses that don't hit us during the working months. Somebody has got to explain this to me: why don't I ever get sick when I'm working (even though Dubai is famous for its sudden temperatures changes: 45 degrees C outside and 8 degree C in every building with AC), but I ALWAYS end up sick in bed for at least 5 days the moment my plane touches the ground of Florence??????

Beside, going back to Florence it is nice, but I can't say we really relax there. Family is great and I'm thankful I can enjoy them a few months during the summer, but even that is pretty demanding. I won't give details on the many, believe me, family issues that keep us busy but I can try to explain what a great privilege we have living overseas far from all these discussions and disputes. Does it sound incredibly selfish? Well, it might be... but I'm just saying that I definitely don't know how to impede all these things to absorb me completely when I get home. I'm surely not used to balance everything anymore and all my great summer resolutions to exercise every day, bake all the yummy food I pinned on Pinterest that I never have time to make, read books, stroll in the streets of Florence waisting time and drive through the hills around the city with Thomas to see if the house of our dreams is there waiting for us...all these lovely things go completely forgotten the moment I get home.

Should I fight to get all this done and enjoy my vacation the way I want? Maybe so, but I know why I can't just ignore everything else. I guess the right word is "compensation". Yes, I try to compensate for all the time that I'm not there. I never say no to anybody and I try to do everything others expect me to do. It's not relaxing, of course, and my body is not happy about it and this is probably why I get sick every year. It's so hard to maintain a healthy balance and understand when it's ok to say no.


However, now, despite the terrible weather I'm absolutely enjoying these idle hours in Belgium. I celebrated our 1st anniversary sleeping until noon, staying in bed until 2pm, baking a cake, watching a movie with Thomas (in bed again) and reading a Belgian BD (comic). Not the more exciting anniversary plan. But, believe me, that's what we needed and I loved it.
Our dinner menu:
Oiseaux sens tete + cream spinach, baked potatos and blueberry cheesecake.

















At the end of the day, both this year and last year' July 8th have been 2 perfect days for me!