New Year stretching of the legs

Oh dear! Hubby and I have started the New Year with a cold. Thankfully on holiday you still manage to push yourself to do things and well the Nonni are pretty amazing doing most things with the wee man. We woke to a beautiful day and he was off with his Nonni for a walk into town where he got to listen to a marching band. I was regalled with stories and shown how to play the trombone. After his afternoon nap I had just enough energy to stretch my legs too. Start the new year the way you plan to continue it or something like that, so off we went to Borghetto. A place that we always manage to visit while we are here. It's always beautiful and seems to get busier each year.

Looking forward to 2014

It seems unfair not to mark the fact that 2013 is ending and 2014 is soon beginning. So many different feelings at the end of this year than last. It holds so much positivity that it seems unfair not to put it into words. Usually I let the photos do the talking but I'm on holiday and I don't have my photos of the past year with me to draw and reflect on.

Life settled down in Spring when I finally found a job that fit into my new work life balance motto. Work got busy after the Summer but it was good and positive and I was always there for my family. It's funny though that just when things settle down they go a bit stir crazy again. The focus of my family has been a lot around me for the past few years so it's nice that the focus is now on hubby. He has been doing so well with his work and research and has now started a new job with hopefully better opportunities. So yep the New Year is going to see us up and moving down south (well it is technically North but you know south of Scotland) to Sheffield. We have had a few visits and scoped the area out and are hoping that by Spring (something about that season it seems) we will be settling happily into a new environment.

It has not all been easy saying goodbye to Daddy on a Monday and then not usually seeing him till a Wednesday night. The wee man's behaviour showed how he struggled with this new set up and every moment with his Daddy suddenly became extra special. Even now he checks that Daddy is coming back.

Change does not scare me (or maybe overwhlem me is a better word) as much as it used to. I am hoping to live a bit more in the moment over the next few months. That is thinking of a years plan rather than that ok admittedly scary 10 year plan. I really hope to find a new job that still fits into that work life balance motto and that my wee man settles into a new environment and finds new friends. It's a lot to think about and plan but we are doing it positively and that again is what I hope 2014 it is all about.

2014 more about looking forward than reflecting too much on the past. After all there is a whole lot of family love here!

Me and Mine at Christmas

Bergamo Città Alta

A walk by Lake Garda

The weather has not exactly been wintry here in Verona. We have had a lot of rainy days but even so we have been having a lot of relaxing family fun. Finally the sun has decided to show it's face. It felt a bit rather like Spring. It was frankly a glorious day to go for a walk by the lake. We parked in Bardolino and walked to Garda for a traditional lunch in a rather nicely heated tent. To mention that the food tasted fantastic would be an understatment. Hubby had to give himself a huge pat on the back for this idea! We spotted ducks and swans. We walked and we ran. Most importantly we also found plenty of time to spend on the shore throwing stones into the water!