January 2nd, 2009

The day has finally arrived. After 2 months of preparing, paperwork, packing.. it’s here. We got up to have breakfast and watch Wall-E with Markus, Mika and Ali. My mom made homemade Tortillas that morning. She was trying to give me a lesson because we hadn’t done it the night before. Again,… feeling rushed, we loaded up the car and I gave my parents a quick lesson on how to operate my 2006 Nissan Murano SL.

Now, you’re probably thinking,,… it’s a car, what’s there to know. Well, my parents are old… well, not old but in their 60’s. (a young 60’s of course) They’re not used to the fancy seat warmers, or remote keyless entry/starter. They’re from the olden days when you needed a key to unlock and start your car. So, I had to give them the quick version. Once that was done, we went back inside to say good-bye to the Watkins/Whiterock family. I did pretty good, I didn’t cry, mostly because I didn’t want to Mika and Markus see me cry. I think they already got used to the idea of me not being there so, it’s not that big of a deal to them and Ali is only 11 months old. (by the way.. Julie- you better show Ali a picture of us everyday! In fact, she better carry that picture around the way she carries her doll)

So, my parents drove us to the airport. I was good until my mom told Carlo to take care of me.. then the tears were flowing. So, then my mom started to cry and I couldn’t look at them. I just kept shaking my head and starting walking away. Carlo just hugged me as we walked to security checkpoint and starting making jokes so that i would laugh instead of cry.

I kept crying on and off while I made phone calls to my family and a few friends, while we ate, on the plane…several times until we got to Frankfurt. At that point I was just tired. I did cry one more time on the way to Turin, but that’s because I was reading ‘A Walk to Remember’. Now, it’s January 3rd- arriving in Turin- we waited for our taxi to take us home. When the driver arrived, Carlo turned to me and asked if I was ready for the cold… I said yes, and we walked outside…..NO!!! I WAS NOT READY FOR THE COLD!!!!!

It was freakin’ freezing!!!! I couldn’t wait to get home. There was snow all over the city. I’m not sure what the temperature was but I know it was probably 33-35º F. We got to the apartment and settled in, took a shower, rested and then went to Mamma Adelasia’s house for dinner. Italian cooking at it’s best.. well, at least that’s what I think. With a full stomach… it’s time to go to bed.. and it’s only 8:30pm.

The Swiss Alps!