"You are my best friend"

The simple things in life.

This weekend I was at the park with my six year old daughter. After being there for about 15 minutes, she had already made a friend with whom she was running around playing with like she had known her whole life. They ran up and down a hill. Chased each other in a circle. Went down slides and swung on swings.
In about 25 minutes the new friend, a little girl named Isabel replied,"You are my best friend" to my daughter. My daughter just giggled and they happily kept playing.

I miss these days of the simple things. I am bogged down with an array of mixed emotions from myself. It is apparent in the space I am in now, in my life with my friends, to my teenage daughters woes about their friends. Even my 12 year old son is beginning to have issues with friendships and trying to cope with the challenges of the middle school dilemmas. Every day I am faced with hearing about hurt feelings, friend swapping, and confusion.

 When did my children grow up so fast? When did I wake up to be a mother of 4 almost grown children? As a mother I feel their pain when they lose a friend or get their feelings hurt. I worry about them every moment. Everything is times 4, or times 6          (if I even have time, to worry about myself and husband too.)

I love being a mom and believe its the most important job in the world. That's why I take my job so seriously. This is why I get payed the big bucks..lol...:))...

I am their mommy. Description:  a counselor, creative director, chauffeur, boss, cook, cleaning lady, hair stylist,  travel guide, nurse, teacher, athletic director, and best friend.

I wonder how I ever have time to be a true friend to anyone outside my family. If you are one of my friends reading this.., bear with me. I think I just realized why I hardly have any time to spend on our friendship.

Rewind...xoxo

Although, I feel everything is as it should be for me right now.

I miss those easy days of playing on the playground, walking to the park, and making a best friend in 5 minutes.

To Share or Not to Share ?

When I decided to have children, I always knew I wanted more than one just to make sure that my children could learn to share. I thought that naturally they would get this instinct with just the fact of.......  that simply another child lives in the house, and from just watching us as parents give things to them equally. Or having them help with chores around the house equally etc... Not to say that you can't teach an only child how to share. Its just with multiple children, its right in their face everyday to have to share when you live in the same house.

At an early age with my children, I fostered the need to share with everyone. We practiced it diligently when they were toddlers with saying things like, "Ok! its his turn to play with that toy, can you please let him play with it now?"," nice job sharing, I am so proud of you."or...."We share the crackers, lets make sure everyone gets one, thank you!"

I even call family meetings when there is a problem in the house, so each person has a chance to share their views and opinions on how to solve it. We have many discussions on the reason why its better to share amongst many other subjects that we talk about.

So why was I woken up at 6am in the morning last week with my 16 year old daughter screeching at my 13 year old daughter about sharing a curling iron?

I laid in bed listening to the argument. I could hear my 16 year old begging my 13 year old to use the curling iron. Then simply my 13 year old would just calmly say "No!" and then explain "that its hers."This of course made my 16 year old more frustrated and the screaming got louder and louder. By this time my 6 year old had woken up and came into my room and  asked with a worried voice, what was going on. Then I could hear scuffling from my 12 year old son's room. The girls had woken us all up. I lay there trying to decide whether to intervene or not. I waited, hoping that my 13 year old would do the right thing and share. More time went by and I prayed that my children would work this out on their own.

As their mother... the peace loving, sunshine and rainbow, glass half full type I am. I was hoping that my two teenage girls had learned how to share by now and could figure out how to solve this together.

However, as I heard my 16 year old ask my 13 year old again for the curling iron, and the 13 year old answering "nope." Then the 16 year old began to whale in a high pitched terror stricken wine.

Something snapped in me. I arose from my bed because I just couldn't take it anymore. I stomped out there looked at my 13 year old and said simply, "I didn't raise you to be a person that doesn't share, we are a family, and in our family we share." "This is over a curling iron, is this worth the pain that you are causing your sister?" My 13 year old throws the curling iron down, and mumbles that she paid for it herself and she shouldn't have to share it.

I turned around and slumped back to bed. The thoughts began racing in my head.
How did this happen? Where did my child get this attitude?
I know there is four of them, and each of them wants to have something their own. Why can't they just share?..... My daughters comment about buying it herself...(I thought,) If we didn't have to share everything we bought ourselves, then what an interesting space we would live in?

for example:"OOps I bought that couch, so you can't sit on it." Or..." Sorry, the food in the refrigerator, I bought that today." "So you can't eat any of it."

We bought a house with 5 bedrooms, just so my children can each have their own space, that's truly theirs. I thought this could be their place to get away, a sanctuary to be able to call their own, so they could have something that they didn't have to share. Maybe by giving them something they didn't have to share, caused this? My thoughts just kept reeling....Will my children ever learn to share? Who knew that a  possession like a curling iron would become so important.

I myself came from a big family. I am glad I had to share. Hopefully someday my children will appreciate this fact too.

Florence, (Firenze) Italy: August 2009.

The path to my adventures that I imagine in my mind all look like this one.

When taking this path to Florence Italy my husband and I decided to go together without the children. Although, this was nice spending all this time alone with my husband. While in Florence I realized that I never wanted to go on a trip again without my children. (Or at least while they are still young and live at home)

 When I was there a realization hung over my head. I began to feel the stretch of time. We had made a conscious decision to go on this trip without children because they had seemed to be comfortable to be away from us. I was able to let go of worries or at least worry less, while they were in the care of their Grandma. I know the importance of spending quality time with my husband as well as my kids. The fact remains, my husband and I seemed to be floating in the same age, as my children are growing up and changing everyday. Now this is all good and expected.  It's just..... the parenting path isn't that long, and in the end your children are grown before you know it. I am hopeful that my husband and I will have plenty of time someday to travel many places on our own when the children are all adults. Why spend that time now?

While being away, I got a taste of being childless and it was bitter. On every adventure my husband and I took, I couldn't help think how much this child would enjoy this, and this child would like that. I missed them. My oldest daughter is almost 17 years old and I don't want to miss anymore minutes. Still alas, I will not speak of this any further, or wine anymore. I have a blog post for you filled with pictures of the adventure, and reminisce of  some wonderful memories made with my husband.


Florence from my perspective:
By day, it is a place filled with intricate fragrant gardens, friendly smiles, Gelato heaven, cobblestone pathways and a query of talented artists who line the streets.  By night it is a  city full of colorful music, lights, dancing and waves of aroma from bubbly pizza and Italian sauces.

It is the town where The David lives. And from my viewpoint, when seeing the David stand before me,..he breathes. He was spectacular with the curve of each fine detail. If I didn't know better I would think he would just get up and start walking away or ask for some clothes.  Michelangelo in my opinion was an artistic genius.


This amazing renaissance city called Florence was established in 80 BC.
It recently was ranked one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And it bestowed a special bridge that was molded by hand and crafted through generations it was named the Ponte Vecchio "Old bridge." It began as a market of meats and green groceries. Later to change into a bridge full of Jewelers .

The Ponte Vecchio at night

Seen here is the gorgeous craftsmanship of the original store fronts that have been the symbols of this bridge. We arrived early in the morning to watch the merchants open their shops. It was like watching them open giant wooden jewelry boxes.

 Another amazing detail about this bridge is that most of the jewelers have been handed down the skills from their parents or other relatives to make a particular style of jewelry. The gentleman I bought my ring from said his father and grandfather had taught him jewelry design and skill.

The Ponte Vecchio in the daylight

Fountain at Pitti palace

Boboli gardens behind Pitti palace

We got up early and wandered the empty streets exploring the gardens and feeling the warm sun.





Giardino Bardini
"Garden Bardini"

La Spiaggia di san Niccolo

"The tower of St. Niccolo"

View of Florence from the Boboli gardens

There is artists on every corner in the city. As we walked along the streets the corners were filled with art displays of paintings and drawings and the streets were decorated in chalk art.

Fashion is strewn across shop windows

This young woman was one of the most amazing and talented opera
singers I had ever heard. She was so memorizing it was like I was glued to the spot I was standing in. I just couldn't leave. I stood there in pure awe as she belted out vocal tones that rippled across the arches of the stone buildings.

A carousel spins in the Piazza della Repubblica "Square of the Republic" late into the night.

Metal map of Florence

In the evening shadows there is live music played near the Uffizi gallery. The audience sits in wonderment laced in between the great sculptures that grace the exterior of the museum.

Aaah fluffy hats :)

Our favorite Gelato place.
 Though it seems to look like a disco parlor.
 All the Gelato here is homemade  and delicious.

Basilica of Santa Maria Novella: First great basilica in Florence.
 Built on site of the 9th century oratory of Santa Maria delle Vigne.
(An oratory is a Christian room for prayer)

  Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore
"Church of Santa Maria of the flower"

The ceiling of  the Battistero di Giovanni    "Baptistery of St. John."

The mysterious disappearing purse men.