Rome.featured
And this the second (Emma):
Apart from these incredible moments, it was the first adventure we took as a family. The first time we went to a non-English speaking country. The first time we carried a baby on a transatlantic flight. A baby who developed croup our first night there. It was the place in the world that Jeff and I each wanted to see more than any other, and we went. And we not only survived, we loved every second of it. It was our turning point. We came back from that trip completely changed. We had the confidence to travel freely and an unquenchable desire to travel as often and as far as we could.
Jeff had requested a few days off around Easter. When he unexpectedly received several extra days, I said, “let’s go to Rome.” We had made a promise to ourselves to leave the country with Molly before she turned one, but as that date was creeping closer I had ceded that it wouldn’t happen so soon. I never expected Jeff to agree. Or to have flights booked within 48 hours of that suggestion.
Our first night there, despite jet lag from no sleep on our flight, we walked for hours with Molly asleep in the carrier, wide-eyed and in awe not only of the city, but of ourselves. We stumbled upon the Pantheon when we had no idea where our wandering was taking us, and I was shocked that it actually was inscribed “M. Agrippa.” We were seeing buildings and art that were such a part of our history they seemed almost mythical, but they were in front of us.
Every moment we spend in Rome, we fall deeper in love. From rain falling through the cupola and a classical concert in the Pantheon during our second trip.
To ducks swimming in the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona last week.
To quiet, rainy days spent in prayer in church.
From afternoons chasing bubbles in Piazza del Popolo.
to sweet baby faces covered in gelato.
Rome is our place in the world. Every time we leave, I ask Jeff, “Is this the time we miss our flight and stay?” confident that one day he will say yes.
