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Monday, January 02, 2006

A New Life for the New Year


The movers are here and everything is just about all packed up. Tomorrow they will load the boxes and furniture and put our “home” into storage. When we will see any of this stuff again is hard to say: maybe next summer, or maybe not for a year or longer. Who knows? (“Chi sa?”)

Much of last night was spent finalizing the things to be stored, the things to be taken to Italy now and the things to be shipped in the next couple of weeks. What do we need? What can we do without? And if we can do without it, why do we have it in the first place? All vital questions last evening but now behind us. Or rather packed up and put away. So we will bring back one large rolling bag of the last of our “necessary” clothes (underwear which is pretty important) and packed up some household items, especially kitchen stuff (for baking of course) for shipping to Florence.

Wednesday the new owners move in and give the house their own character, style and personality. Ours will quickly fade into history.

Tuesday we drop off our cable modem box at Adelphia, drop off our boxes to be shipped at Mail Boxes Etc., check our mailbox, finish a couple of banking chores and as soon as the movers are gone so are we, down to Massachusetts to stay with family until Friday. And we hope to sell our car there as well.

It’s an odd feeling we are having right now: homeless, putting our “stuff” away and soon to be without a car. All the accoutrements of American life it seems are slipping through our fingers. Willingly mind you but still. . . .

A part of this off sensation, this disturbance in our normal sense of place, lies in the simple statement that we are heading “back” to Italy. Usually during a trip abroad we would of course say at some point, “we will be heading home soon”, or “heading back to Vermont” or “heading back to the States.” Now we feel like travelers in our own country and will be heading “back” soon to Italy. As they say, “home is where the heart is”.

The key is we are together. In all kinds of weather.

Ciao for now.

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