28 jan 2004

well it's been a long time. a really long time. of course, we've seen most of you recently, although not for too long, and already we're missing our friends and family in america. but life is still great in rome. already this winter is panning out much nicer than last winter. it's not AS cold for one, there are more blue sky days, and we've luca! surprisingly it snowed the other day! and a lot. nothing stuck to the roman streets, but it was still absolutely amazing to witness the vatican under a blanket of fat snow flakes. (the last time it snowed in rome was around 1986)

lets start at the beginning....

we spent a wonderful month in new jersey in december 2003. we got married. EVERYONE saw luca. i think we got our fill of american life real quick. although i must say it was a great time, i think it was a bit long. things got TOO comfy towards the end, which only made it that much worse to come back and to get re-adjusted again to roman life. and poor luca. dear lord, the kid did his first cross-atlantic journey just fine, but the jet lag killed him. and all these new experiences in america - everyday a new environment, at least 5 new people, he didn't know what to do with himself. but he had a good time, and of course his grandparents were "more than happy" (to say the least) to meet and play with him. as was everyone else. i was back in the band for a brief moment there as well. we're not back in the states for more than 5 hours and already a gig was booked! it was so much fun! the crazy thing was, when i was playing regularly, i would get nervous for every show, for each time i picked up that guitar. but this time it was like nothing. it was a great time. i wish the boys would move to rome.... (wink wink!) our wedding was fantastic. such a great day. at least we thought so.... we had a beautiful ceremony with our immediate family, and then a long day full of food, wine, and friendship and more family. i didn't want the day to end. it was excatly how we wanted it. short on stress and huge on happiness.

unfortunately during our stay, my uncle eddie passed away. it was a shock to say the least, but luca lightened everyone's spirits, which i think made the days of the wake and funeral a little more bearable. we were in balitmore for 2 days, again surrounded by a lot of family i haven't seen in a LONG time, but under sad circumstances...

the goodbye was rough of course, heading back to rome, but we were excited to get our new lives as a married couple with a child back on track in our home in rome. luca was great on the plane back, fell asleep pretty much right away, had one diaper change in 7 hours, and enjoyed the ride. the night after however.... jet lag set in - real bad...

this past month has been filled with strange emotions. from sad, to sadder to mild depression to absolute happiness. it was, as i said, tough to re-adjust to our roman lives. after a month of central heat in the home, cars, 5 speed shower heads, and dryers to come back to our spartan lifestyle was a hard thing. our washer is now not working properly. which means lugging large ikea bags to the laundromat and spending too much to clean our clothes. the proprietor, mario, is such a character that it makes it almost worthwhile. (that'll be another entry soon.) its not as cold as last winter, but it's still cold for rome. which means aubrey and luca can't leave the house and hang out in various piazzas while i'm at work. which makes a stir crazy wife and a crying baby. after a month of eating too much (and too much fried food an candy) in america it makes it that much harder to come back and eat healthy. so we've been eating bad again...

but on a positive note, work has been really steady this month. i did a weekend with cbs which pretty much paid the rent for the month, and i made some new contacts and more work in the future. winter here will be over real soon, which means more outings for the family. and we're meeting new people, specifically expat moms which aubrey can spend some time with and start new friendships. and both sets of parents are coming to visit in mid-february. a little touch of home for us, and a little touch of granchild for them. not to mention great pasta, wine and atmosphere!

don't get me wrong, we're still in love with living here, we just haven't been doing it long enough to spend a month in america and not feel homesick. but i have great feelings about this year... the daily newness of luca, the coming of spring, and just enjoying our roman lives will increase our happiness with each day. plus knowing that the longer we are here, the more italian luca can learn, and that much more worldly he will be. growing up in europe, having italian friends, but with american parents and other americans to chill with... what a life this kid will have!

so now our immediate "to do list" includes writing thank you notes to all the wonderful people who were SO generous to shower us with gifts and thier presence at our wedding, shop a little at ikea on friday for a new bed and some other things for the house, and wait for the ADSL people to call to come and install hi-speed internet at home. that will also be a great thing. it's always on, we can use the phone at the same time and it's actually cheaper than regualr 56k dialup. i also need to start working on my own stuff. i've got other contacts to start some documentaries in rome, like i wanted to do when i first came here a year and a half ago, and i just need to do it. and aubrey's gonna start kicking some ass with her website (www.aubreeze.com) ...cheap plug... that along with luca's new teeth (which are starting to bother both him and us) i think this will be a great 2004. i can't wait! sometimes life just makes you smile, and for me, this is one of those moments....

i hope you are well, and that we talk soon.

-justin