When we get home, five of our six children will either speak Italian fluently or will be able to understand most of what is being said (even if they are too shy to speak it). Marianne spoke in church recently and shocked everyone by giving a seven-minute talk in Italian without looking much at her notes. (Kimberly who was home from her mission for a couple of weeks helped her translate her talk from English to Italian.) She even realized when she made a funny mistake and knew how to correct it! Jeff, who was sitting next to me, whispered under his breath, "Wow. She's amazing!" We knew she could -- she just hadn't up until this point. Stephanie speaks half English and half Italian most of the time and sometimes has a complete conversation in Italian -- if no one outside the family is around!
But there are many other reasons why this has been such a good thing for our family. We have learned a lot -- about other cultures, other beliefs, and the struggles that many have in this life. The kids have learned how to really study -- and study hard. We have spent a lot of time together as a family -- much more than we would have with our busy lives back in Utah. And that's only the tip of the iceburg!
There are some funny moments as well. I thought I would hurry and write down a couple of them before I forget:
One day while Kimberly and a couple of her friends from the States were here, I picked Marianne and Stephanie up from school. The day was warm and sunny and we wanted to take advantage by going on a bike ride through the Villa Borghese (kind of like Central Park in New York City). Stephanie was frustrated that I hadn't brought her a change of clothes and that she would have to wear her navy blue school pants. (Just last year she wouldn't have even thought about it!) I told her that no one would even notice and that there probably wouldn't even be any kids her age around. As soon as we got out of the car, a throng of kids just her age walked by. She said, "See?" I said, "Tell me what's wrong with these pants." She said, "They're getting too short!" I said, "Well, at least they aren't as short as your pants were last year!" To which she replied, "These ARE the pants from last year." Drats!
A few minutes later as we were walking, she said she was thirsty. I said, "Did you know that you could put one of these smooth rocks in your mouth and that will help you not be so thirsty? In fact, the pioneers used to do that as they walked across the plains." She said, "Well, did you know you can actually get water from a rock?" I said, "No you can't honey. The rock just helps your saliva gland get working so your mouth isn't so dry." "No," she insisted, "That's not what I mean. I mean you really can get water from a rock! You can just hit it with a hammer and water will come out." I said, "Well, if the rock were part of a rock wall, and there happened to be an underground stream behind it and you hit the rock and broke through, then water would come out." "No," she again insisted, "You really can just hit a rock with a hammer and water will come out!" Realizing that it was going to take another "expert" to convince her, I said, "Go ask Kimberly." She promptly went back to walk with Kimberly and said, "Kimberly, you can get water out of a rock, can't you!" Kimberly said, "Yes -- if you're Moses!" To which Stephanie replied, "EXACTLY!" So funny.
And then there are always those times when you wish your children weren't there to witness your ineptness or foolishness because you know that someday they will pass on these "crazy mother stories" to their friends, or worse yet, your own grandchildren! Such was a moment a couple of days ago.
A woman in our ward at church had had a new baby who was having some troubles with swallowing and had to be hospitalized. The mother was at the hospital most of the time with the baby, so the women in the ward were taking turns bringing meals to the family. It was decided that this week the Young Women would prepare the meals under the supervision of their mothers. We had fun making homemade chicken noodle soup with peas and carrots, baking powder biscuits, a fresh fruit platter, and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. As we left the house to deliver the meal (in the dark and rainy night), I grabbed the address, the map showing right where it was, my wallet, and keys to the house. What I realized a couple of blocks away was that I didn't have my phone with me. Marianne encouraged me to go back and get it, but that would entail driving around several blocks because of the one-way streets. I decided against it and said we would be OK.
Driving here is crazy. Driving here in the rain is crazier. There is more traffic because those who are normally on motocycles and scooters (motorini) are now in cars and it's a mess. But since I had mapped it all out, I felt like I knew where I was going and we would be fine. We drove the 10 minutes there with few problems, but, as usual, could not find a parking place. If this happens, especially if you're only going to be a few minutes, you just put on your hazard lights and double park, hoping you can get back out to the car before the owners of the trapped cars start honking. We grabbed the food and went off in search of #300, Scala B, int. 2. Except that there were several buildings at #300 (A, B, C, etc.) We found B, but couldn't see the family's last name on the citofono (a list of names and their doorbells). Someone finally let us in. We went to apartment #2 -- and were told that the people we were looking for didn't live there. During this entire process, I was kicking myself for not bringing my phone and their phone number. I could have solved this so easily by ringing them and asking them to come out of their building so we could see where they were. But remember, I hadn't listened to Marianne and so didn't have my phone. Very frustrating. Just as I was going back to the car to get in and return home to get my phone and their phone number, the girls ran up and told me that they had found it!! Yeah! Just as we brought it to the door and were waiting to take our pan back, my hand brushed something in my pocket. My phone!! So NOW we realize we have the phone -- and had it all along. The girls really had fun with that one. Don't kids know that they aren't supposed to laugh at old ladies? Especially when they are their own mothers!
One last mom moment: Over the next three days, Brigham Young University will be hosting the National Ballroom Championship. For several years, we spent many hours there watching our children put their many hours of practice to good use as they competed with a partner or team. What a great experience it was for them. It was one of the hardest things that some of our children had to leave behind as we came to Italy. Kimberly said good-bye to dance when she decided to serve a mission, missing last year's competition. This year she will be a volunteer, helping with the event instead of dancing in it.
In remembrance of her beautiful dancing, I wanted to post this clip that someone sent me last year. At first, I didn't think Kimberly was in this particular piece until I saw how one of the dancers moved her arms and held her head that made me look closer. And there she was. She takes away my breath every time.
