Today is our LAST day at Capo Vaticano. We spent it at the beach and the pool, as per usual. Feeling wistful because I know I will miss the incredible views, the dry and rocky landscape with cacti (and its fruit you can eat), the sunsets, eating in the restaurant where the waiter already knows your name and the names of your kids, the quietness and coolness of the ocean when you put your whole face into it – just the fish and you.

I will miss the early mornings at the beach, where we would be the ONLY people there, just the waves, the rocks, the sand and us. And our snacks 😉

I will not miss the hard stuff: constant refereeing of who gets the squishy toy, or when one kid found six shells and another only five. I will not miss barking orders: “stop that” “don’t touch” “stop fighting jezuschrist” as well as threatening to not buy ice cream and cajoling with ice cream. Asking them to keep their voices down on the beach and the pool, and, especially, the restaurant. Consoling them both for whatever reason – a bruise, a cut, a jellyfish sting, wanting to go home to New Jersey, wanting daddy, falling off the bed while horsing around, disliking their food, all of that. Le sigh. Disclaimer: I admit this is self-inflicted pain for me since it was my idea to go to Italy with them for two weeks.

*By the way…. I saw Italian parents struggle with similar issues and also bark out orders, or at least that’s how it sounded to me.* Oh, the universal problems of parenting…

I also will not miss a feeling, sort of like a low grade fever, but mental, of the fact that we are away from home and I must keep them safe. It’s hard to explain: we are NOT in a war zone but I still have the feeling of heightened vigilance for them.

I also acknowledge that two weeks to be away from their bedrooms, routines, toys and familiar food is a lot to ask of them. They told me they are excited to get back home and can’t wait to sleep at the airport hotel – tomorrow night at Naples.

The kids learned a lot on this trip, big things and little things. They made friends with other kids staying at Calispera and in Minori. Kids don’t sweat the small stuff when connecting: a wave, a name, and off to build a sand castle together, in spite of the fact that the kid doesn’t speak English and they don’t speak Italian. The kids also stroke up conversations with adults and teens just by saying hi and stating their names, on their own volition. I seriously commend them for it. At this age, they do not care about anything rather than “there is a human in front of me and they are interesting.”

I also think that through these trips they learn that the world is a beautiful place and, for the most part, a safe place. A place where there are other humans who speak and live differently yet they are also happy, like us, and they also struggle, just like us.

Tomorrow morning we have a long train ride: Capo Vaticano – Naples. We then have one night at the airport hotel in Naples and we fly out on Tuesday afternoon.