i heart italy

8 years ago, my hubby took the illinois bar exam. it's funny how time passes and your memories fade of things that were less than pleasant. as we re walked this path, preparing for the california bar exam, some of the memories began to re-enter our minds. suddenly, something that we hadn't thought about in years became very vivid. we had forgotten how hard it had been.

that was before kids and jobs and... well a whole lot of stuff. so naturally, this time it was even harder. i won't try to sugar coat any of it. the past three months have been an incredible challenge. at times, i felt like i was suffocating from the weight of it all.

but today is a new day, sister!

8 years ago, he took the exam in july. the exam ended on thursday and early in the morning on saturday we headed to the airport... for a three week trip to italy and austria. it was heavenly.

i so wish that i had a little envelope with tickets to milan to hand my hubby when he walked in the door yesterday. but as i said, this time we have kiddos, jobs, and a whole different bag of responsibility.

so instead, we had this for dinner last night.

mmmm.... i could almost close my eyes and smell the oil paint from the artists in florence, hear the water from venice and smell the salt of the italian riviera... you know after blocking out the chatter from an infant, the "i do" of a buggy, and the details of the day from a delightful 5 year old.

yes, it was a little different this time. but as i've said before, this is our life and with the good, the bad and the hard, and i wouldn't have it any other way.