A Presto


In a countdown of hours, I get to see this little “monello” again! 

I’ve reduced my packing to one suitcase and one carry-on, but they’re bulging. I may need to rethink this. I know it means deleting some shoes.

I leave with The Son of Martin Handford experience unfinished. But I’ve reconciled my losses and restocked/replaced most of what I can’t find, making this autumn’s return less stressful albeit my wallet a bit thin. This is life, and I realize I’m fortunate to have only such problems.

We got a joyous primer for our return to Ettore. At our house, the front doorbell ding-dongs, the back doorbell dings once. It is with pure elation that we hear a one-ding ring, because it means the kids across the alley are at our back door! Three of them had been to Portugal on a family trip for a month, so we hadn’t yet seen them here. The other two, we briefly saw from their car, and one of them was here. Oh, how my heart filled at the sight of them! We had a nice long catch up. Then the 4-year-old brother suddenly appeared, announcing “There weren’t any cars!” I understood he was explaining that he crossed the alley by himself; a big no-no! But, he survived and we were thrilled to see him. Summers with them at our “breakfast table” (the patio) will be the one thing I’ll long for when we’re away. But, it’s something else that will sweeten our return. 


 

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