…Because this year I promise to write with greater regularity!
[Insert your favorite bowel-movement-related joke here]
I cut out some other activities for the year ahead.
I learned in 2024 that writing a newsletter was more than just writing.
So I wanted to concentrate on this newsletter. Because writing is something I like doing and whether I publish or not, it nourishes me in a way that trying to market myself does not.
Last year was a great one for me in many ways. In July, my brother came for a visit, and in August, I took a road trip with one of my best friends. We drove from Ohio to the Adirondack Mountains in New York and back. Through a lot of rain and a lot of snoring (me—sorry!), and we’re still friends (I think!)
And then we went to Italy, my husband, son, and me. And last year was full of preparation for the trip.
And anxiety.
And of course, anxiety doesn’t really prepare you for travel.
Preparation prepares you!
But anxiety drove me to over-prepare. I bought a lot of pairs of shoes. Most did not work for me. I ended up wearing one pair the entire time.
I never figured out how to walk easily on cobblestones or through crowds, but walking was necessary, so of course, I did it.
This street in Florence became my north star. If I was there, the hotel was not far away…
“On April 27, 1859, the people of Florence gathered in Independence Square. (then "Maria Antonia," but for Florentines still "Piazza di Barbano") For that patriotic demonstration that would drive away Grand Duke Leopold II of Lorraine and on that day, in that square, the unification of Italy was born.”
—The text is from a website: https://www.istitutofanfani.it/en/piazza-della-indipendenza-a-firenze-origini-e-storie-di-vita/
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Now I have to ask because it’s a new year:
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