And . . . back

Spannocchia

Well, I returned from Italy on Friday night but jetlag has pursued me like a hungry hound.  I’m finally feeling right in the head today so I thought I’d follow up on the goodbye post.

Spannocchia: courtyard view

I had a great time!  My home-sickness was bad in Rome, the first four days of the trip, and that was with constant phone calls and Skype, but then something happened.  I had a great workshop of my two pieces, we left for Tuscany, and I shared more of my work in public readings.  Wallflower no more!  Actually, I was still pretty quiet on the trip, but during workshop I felt comfortable to share my thoughts and in smaller group settings, I was perfectly happy.

The estate where we stayed in Tuscany, Spannocchia, had so much to do with my feelings of ease.  We had time to get to know one another, communal meals, wonderful open-mic-style readings every night,

and dorm life.  Plus, most of us went to the pool after dinner to slough off the heat = more community-building.  Can you sense a theme?  For a program that is low-residency, meaning we don’t see one another for a year and do most of the work on our own at home, feeling part of a community is important (well, at least it is for me).

Community meals with bottomless wine

So, many new friends later, I am home where the heat index is far worse than it was in the middle of the Forum in Rome.  I’m thrilled to spend a month with my kids before school starts, happy to see the Huz when I’m not passed out from exhaustion, and sneaking moments at the computer to start my first writing packet for the semester.

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Resolution 7: Be in the now (or Italia!)

This month is a little, well a lot, different than previous months, so my resolution will reflect this difference.  Today I leave for a 10-day trip to Italy with my MFA program.  My only resolutions are to be open to experiences, vocal when I need to be and receptive at the right times too, and to be comfortable being myself.  My last residency I fell back into a familiar wallflower pose, but I am going to be conscious of this side of my personality and nurture it when I need to but push it as much as possible.  The biggest part of this resolution is the live in the moment.  I have already started missing my husband and children before packing my bags.  Normal, right.  But, I need to attempt a healthy balance of home-sickness and excitement.  The trick is that I will probably have less contact with the family this go-round because I’m just not sure how much reception my phone will have or if WiFi is even a possibility for Skyping.  I will make contact when I can and try to focus on being a writer in Italy.  Ten days isn’t that long.

Arrivederci!

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