Sunday Hike

Just past Agordo which is about 40 minutes from here you turn right
and drive up a very narrow road when you reach the
refuggio/restaurant pictured you park the car then walk up the
mountain trail. It's only a climb of about 300 meters in altitude and
just under 3 k on the trial, but it is a bit of a workout. The views
of the Dolomites are spectacular.

Julia's Birthday Party

Tomorrow is her birthday, but Saturday we had a nice party for her.
She invited only the girls from her class plus a few other friends.
We also did a bbq for the parents. The weather was supposed to be
marginal but it turned out perfect. Everyone seemed to have a good
time.

Julia is 10

On Monday Julia will be 10. It's always hard to realize how fast they grow up. In fact how fast they turn 40 and have kids and stories of their own. But today I'm reminded of those so frightening months when Luisa was pregnant with Julia. At six months Julia thought about being born. A routine check up which happened to be at the hospital took Luisa from the exam room to a semi intensive care hospital bed and a series of drugs to stop contractions and effacing of the cervix. The drugs were strong, Luisa had hallucinations, and at one point her breathing capacity was in danger. She was very scared and so was I. We had a conversation with the doctor specializing in very premature babies telling us to think about what we would do should she be born so early - there was little chance of survival and potential problems with brain development, among other concerns.

Luckily things stabilized and then Luisa stayed in the hospital for 5 weeks and more or less so did I, having driven from Carlsbad to San Diego every night to stay with her in the evening. Once she came home it was total bed rest for the rest of the time. Then of course Julia decided to make things still difficult by refusing to put her head down which necessitated a C section.

Now though, Julia is 10 and a beautiful, bright and healthy young girl. I'm thinking about her and the first time I saw her little heart beat on the ultra sound monitor and the great love and sacrifice her Mom made to bring her to life. I'm reminded also of how mothers everywhere do so much to create the miracle of life.

Back to School

 
 
 
Julia is in fifth grade and Giovanni is in third. The school put on a great back to school welcoming a combination of faith and singing and simple encouragement to do well this year.

corso Buenos Aires

Di questo corso, Hemingway ha detto: "That's my home", qui mi sento in America".

"That's my home, here I feel like I'm in America." He also said which I can't find the quote something like it being where the real life of Italy exists. Luisa's parents home is just a block away and I've spent a lot to time there, most of it fallowing her around to all the various shops. It's always full of people no matter the day, but Saturday is of course the worst. For a country boy it takes a lot of getting used to, a New Yorker would feel right at home I imagine, but I am beginning to appreciate it.

We hit the stores there today and fitted out the kids for school. Great fun, Giovanni wore a new shirt home from the store and I think Julia will be the prettiest girl in her school, well she doesn't need new clothes for that but they help.

Kids Bedrooms

They have been gone for a week so we took advantage of the time to
clean up, paint and rearrange their rooms. Kind of a Fall get ready
for school cleaning.