At about this time a year ago, I was preparing to board a plane to Rome, Italy.  A two-week trip with my girlfriends had been meticulously planned (work done not by me) and the months of anticipation were over!  I was finally going to see Italy, a place I had dreamed of visiting my whole life.  I couldn’t wait for all the people (men) we would meet, wine we would drink, and stories we would gather.  It’s so funny/weird to me now that I had no idea at the time that this trip would be my last big vacation as a single girl, that so much was about to change.  At the time (at every time, let’s be honest) I thought I knew so much more than I really did.  The future before me that looked to be a blank canvas had some big surprises in store.  I love that I didn’t know that–and try to remind myself now, when I wish I had more information, to just let life unfold.

For two weeks I let it unfold in the street markets and museums of Florence, the countryside and vineyards of Tuscany, the beaches of Positano, and the landmarks of Rome.  OH DEAR LORD how I miss that beauty and freedom!  I itch for it right now from this office chair in front of a computer at a school of dentistry.  Not quite the same.  Maybe a glass of Chianti would help?  Or maybe I will just relive it through my journal, which I used to record not only what happened on the trip but my thoughts and prayers each day, so that I know exactly how I felt as I was experiencing this new place.  One cool thing is that I go through the same devotional book every year (My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers) and write down quotes from each day’s writing that inspire me.  Some statements get quoted every year and are a part of my spiritual vocabulary, and others stand out to me just for that day based on whatever “life season” I’m going through.

SO…hold on to your hats, readers, because we’re taking a journey through the past to this time last year  (Cue the Wayne’s World dream sequence fuzzies)!  No money/big trip this year or blog last year means we get an excuse to relive it all!  Starting tomorrow, because it corresponds to the day we actually landed in Italy and because I’m about to go eat Mexican with the BF.  Sorry.  Cheese dip waits for no one.