Synchronicity

This is Ambra on the right...here we are eating our first gelato of the trip...it still was the best of all of them so far...

It's funny how life really works, you know?  A chance meeting while out with friends one Thursday night more than 3 years ago resulted in a beautiful stay in Torino.  When it happened, never in a million years did I expect that it would result in such a friendship.  A simple observation that two gals were speaking Italian turned into a fun night of dancing and laughing.  At the end of the night, Ambra confided that they were touring and planned to sleep in their car.  It was a cold night, and I couldn't imagine such a thing so I insisted that they come back to my house.  The must have thought I was crazy, I mean, who is the crazy woman in downtown Santa Cruz who is inviting us back to her house?  Who does that? Me.

It was something that I remember my dad telling me about when I was young and he traveled throughout Europe by himself.  He made the greatest of friends that way- even some he still knows well.  I remember thinking how cool it was to make friends this way and vowed to "pay it forward."  The first guests ever were on Maplethhorpe Avenue.  They stayed in a tent in our back yard for over a week as our home was so small that we simply had no space, it was summer and they had all the right equipment to live comfortably, catch up on laundry in our washer, take hot showers and cook warm meals.  Johnny never doubted my "crazy streak" and the neighbor Matt even helped us to host.

It's not that it happens often, but occasionally, Johnny, who goes to work at 3AM, stumbles upon a guest sleeping in the living room.  In a normal family this would be consdered something to panic about, however, Johnny never doubts my judgement.  Instead he asks " Hey, did you know there is someone sleeping on the couch?"

Ambra was no different...I am so grateful to her for hosting us... I don't know how ever to thank her... only to say...I promise to pay it forward again...see you in Santa Cruz!

Daniel...was a gift.  After the most amzing trip with Andrew that summer, he appeared in my classroom the first day of school.  Never in a million years did he or I expect to hear Italian that day...but from the moment I met this kid, I knew he would remain a friend.  By summer, when his sister Giada and his cousin Cristian came, I felt a part of a new family in Italy.  How amazing is it to be in his home? Bergamo, like Torino, is totally new to me and our family has eased into Italian living seamlessly because Franca and Dario make it all so easy.  

life is full of these moments where we really don't know how our simple actions will change things.  If we are not present, these opportunities can pass us by, and we miss out.