Last night I got to spend time with the Redmonds, a family from home that my family has known for years. Kelsey is two years younger than me but we all grew up together and it was just so, so nice to see them and spend time with them. Even more so when Jack met me for mass at the Duomo. That was when I felt just SO content. I could close my eyes and just pretend that I was transported back home to Padre Serra sitting in church next to Jack and maybe my mom and my other side. I even had to pull him away from the priest, just like we do at home. All of my parents friends can talk for ages. It was always the same when we were kids. "get out of the pool we're leaving in 10 minutes!!" An hour later and dressed, all the kids are sitting there while the parents are still happily chatting away, maybe with a purse in their arms or something. Never changes. Of course I do that too now. "We're leaving...oh wait let me say bye!"
So I met up with Jack at the Duomo while Sharon and Kelsey took a nap (shopping in this heat will run you down). After mass, we went out and met them outside the Doors of Paradise (I love that I can call that spot my "meeting spot"...so surreal) and Kelsey and I nearly knocked each over. I haven't seen her in so long. In fact we were talking about how much, or little, I've been home since I moved up north and I think I've been home a total of 6 or so weeks since last January. SO strange. And then Kelsey started at U of A this past year so none of are home now. The parents are all home with empty nests. Anyways, we had a drink outside one of the restaurants near the Duomo, one that I always walk past but don't even think about stopping at because well it's damn expensive. Then we strolled around for a while and did some window shopping before going to dinner at this adorable little restaurant where I tasted the most amazing ravioli ever. It has cheese and pear in the middle. OMG. Unfortunately that wasn't what I had ordered so now I have to somehow go back. Before I leave. I have to haha. And it was just so nice to sit and talk with someone that has known me and I could feel like I was with family again. I miss my family so much, and when I say family, I don't just mean blood relatives. My friends at home are my family. Like I've said before, I have about 20 sets of parents. Sharon and Jack are one of them. We had such a good talk about what I've been doing, what they've been doing and so forth.
After dinner, I asked if I could have Kelsey come and hang out with some friends of mine. They've been on a two week tour of Italy and well I figured the girl could use some fun night time fun haha. We met up with my usual group and just went to one of the bars we frequent. It seemed like a low key time so Ali and I took her to Red Garter for a little taste of some of the dancing that goes on here. We called it a night early though because they had an early wake up time. But seriously it was just so much fun. It was so cool to be able to somehow connect my two worlds. Because this is seriously a whole different world for me. I have my world in Camarillo, I have my world in San Jose and now I have my world in Florence. I doubt the three will ever really be combined but that would be so cool someday. Maybe at my wedding haha. Which is eons away by the way.
Seeing someone from home made me appreciate what I have back home. I know I want to travel the world and see as much as I possibly home and I can find comfort in the fact that no matter where I am, I can always go home. I will always have someone to talk to there and "family" to visit. My parents talk about moving somewhere different, but secretly I hope that they never leave there. I know they will (they want to live in Italy for a few years, which is perfectly fine...as long as they go straight back to Camarillo). I love where I grew up and I love the people I grew up with. I know someday we will all be far flung from each other but we'll never truly be away from each other. It's how family works.
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