the taste of bark

It's funny how things mostly just pick up where they left off. Just as before, Marcello greeted me at the airport and drove me to the family home in Staranzano. As we drove through Friuli, I was excitedly scanning the countryside for signs of change, but was equally relieved upon realizing that everything was as I remembered. When we arrived at the house, the familiar smell was startling- How did I ever forget that scent? And how is it possible that such a scent alone evoked such a hodgepodge of emotions? Happiness, anxiety, love, hope, uncertainty, calm and a sense of inner peace. This was not just a smell that brought back memories of my prior experience here, but one that also reminded me of who I was the last time I was here and what I had learned about myself in this home. This time around, I plan on bottling up a bit of this to go. A dab on the wrist every morning should do the trick.

Gine returned home from school shortly after my arrival. There was a bear hug, of course, a few awkward moments of the polite catching up, of course, and then an immediate shift into where we had left off. It was as if I had never left. Like I was a completely normal fixture in this home. We all decided to surprise Luce by picking her up from school together. Cristina, Gine and I entered the classroom side-by-side. As I was scanning the room anxiously anticipating my reunion with her, Luce caught sight of Cristina and ran towards her with open arms. Just as she was approaching us, I called her name. She quickly changed her trajectory and jumped into my arms, simultaneously exclaiming, "Oh, hi!," followed by a round of giggles. I was told that my hair was "bigger," by which she meant longer, and that she liked it, and then that I had to meet her teacher. The most polite introduction was conducted by little Luce, nearly bringing me to tears from a mix of sadness that she had grown up since I last saw her and pride that she was so clever.

The past few days here have included a number of moments that have touched my heart, warmed it up, cooled it way down, and even broken it on a few occasions. That's the thing about kids- things change every minute. They're happy, then sad, then crying, then laughing, then screaming, and then suddenly telling you that they love you. Like it or not, just being around kids gives you the same mix of erratic emotions. This reminds me, I witnessed a kid in San Francisco last week who was so frustrated that he screamed and bit into a tree trunk on the sidewalk. His parents were so shocked and disturbed that they didn't know what to do. I totally get it. Sometimes all you can do is just bite a tree. Once your mouth is good and full of bark, that's when you know that someone's going to curl up beside you, hand over their favorite stuffed animal to keep you warm, and tell you that they want to be beside you for the whole day.

So what do we do around here besides cry, giggle and scream our heads off? We practice grammar, read books, play charades, put together puzzles, learn songs, decorate Easter eggs, play video games, have tickle wars, play Go Fish, act like monkeys (literally), and of course, take breaks to cuddle and eat cookies. It surely isn't a glamorous vacation, but I wouldn't trade these moments for anything in the world (fun fact: world was the word-of-the-day today, along with planet, Earth, and globe).