With the rhythm of time and life’s cycles, I see from perusing the newsletter archive on my website that it’s now been two years since I started communicating with you, via the newsletter format. At this point last year, we were all emerging at our own pace from the shutdown and isolation of COVID and getting our bearings with a new resumption of life. And Mom’s memoir, Journey Between Two Worlds, had earned by 2022 the recognition of several book awards, all within one year following publication.
I was preparing for my first flight since the pandemic, which seemed like a dress rehearsal for relearning how to pack for foreign travel. The anticipated next destination was Northern Spain and Portugal, which inspired a travelogue approach in the October 2022 edition of my newsletter to you. How amazingly overdue that expedition felt! And how much fun it was to recapture and relive it all for you!
Now it’s time for yet another travel adventure. Yippee! Yes, you guessed it, of course. The country where residents are known to talk incessantly with their hands is… ITALIA! More on this pending trip momentarily…
My time prior to departure necessitated some personal Spring maintenance. It seems that after considerable mileage is expended physically over decades of forging a life, occasional tune-ups, some re-assembly, and modified adjustments are required along the way. In April, cataract clouds were lifted, and light appeared. This cloud removal revealed a clarity of the leaves on the trees and the shape of windows on buildings across the reservoir. Oh, is that what they really look like! Never thought I had an issue with distance, actually. Seemed almost normal… to me. But when things got blurrier overall, it was time to act. The astigmatism was corrected, too. Though glasses are still needed for reading, I am assured that over-the-counter generics will do, once the eyes fully adjust. With my new destination ahead, the word “sightseeing” will take on an expanded dimension!
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