Rome....Through My Eyes...

As we drove to the monastery the first thing I noticed was graffiti everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. Either they have alot of gangs, teens with time on their hands, or find this as a form of art. We pulled up to the monastery, checked in and headed for the elevator. OR...what I like to call an oversized MRI machine. No air flow, very small, we barely fit with our luggage. I felt like I needed a valium every time I got in...haha Our last day in Rome we got stuck in this elevator. It landed on the main floor but wouldn't open. We stood there pushing buttons. Nothing ! We tried the "phone" button. Nothing ! We then proceeded to bang on the door. Nothing ! Finally Doug pried the door open and we stepped down to the lobby area (it got stuck about a foot from the bottom floor....NICE !)

You quickly realized when walking that "road rules" were not the same as the US. It's a total free for all. There are pedestrian markings, but rarely heeded to. Cars drive through neighborhoods or alley's as if they were on the freeway. Motorcycles and scooters crowd the road, weaving in and out of traffic and around people. When I've watched movies where they are going down narrow alleys, speeding along....I now know that they didn't make that stuff up. Compact cars & motor bikes show up in the narrowest of alleys nearly pinning you against the wall to prevent from being hit. This is also interesting considering cafe's line the alleys and sidewalks.

Even with all of that going on, you can't miss the beauty of Rome. You look around to see old buildings full of so much character, worn, weathered. The roads are cobblestone. Shutters are outside of every window, flower boxes full of flowing greenery & flowers line the balconies. (the first thing I did when arriving in our room was to throw open the shutters. We also left them open at night when we got back to enjoy the street chatter of the locals having a good time.) It's interesting that outside of alot of windows you will see two hooks on either side to place a rod or rope. I saw that some people hang their clothes on here to dry. Very resourceful !

Our monastery was more or less in a neighborhood (about 5 blocks from the Vatican). I loved that we made this choice. In the mornings, and early evenings, you would hear the restaurant workers shout down the street to locals walking along, or greeting them in the morning when they came in for coffee. We had a bakery down the street that every time you passed their doors (even when they were closed) the kitchen door would be swung open and you would see them in there rolling dough, baking....The smell alone made it worthwhile to walk by.

To get lost in a city of this size would be like getting lost in Chicago....but you can't speak the language. We spent one day hopping off trains, onto buses, onto trains....trying to find our way around. It took almost a good two days before we learned the bus system and how it worked.

We loved the history, the stories. In fact, we couldn't take pics of it but we saw where the Apostle Peter was buried. It was amazing. Glassed in, it looked like an enormous marble mausoleum. It was beautiful. The depths this city has gone to in honoring Christ, the Apostles, and Christianity is amazing.

Rome is beautiful in the day, but the night is when it comes alive. Cafe's are lit with mood lighting, they line the sidewalks. One right after another. The tables are so close together you might as well be sitting with strangers. Our last day in Rome was just such a case. We sat between a Canadian couple and an Australian couple. We chatted (enjoyed the fact we were all English speaking..haha) It was fun ! One thing I learned on this trip was Australian people are SUPER friendly ! Makes me want to go visit there! =)
It's not unusual for people to just walk up while you are eating trying to sell you flowers, or scarves, or play a flute or accordion (for tips). If you are eating on the Piazza you will see streets acts, people spray painting pictures while you watch, singing groups...... No lack of entertainment !

Italian food, Pizzeria's, gelato (coconut might be my favorite) , cannoli.....all are just a few things you will eat in Rome. Water fountains are more like water spickets. You can lean over and drink straight from it or always carry a water bottle. I drank more water than anything while there. Coffee's are about two swallows and you're done. It feels like you are having a pretend tea party with little girls ! haha

If you've never considered Rome, I'm here to tell you that you should. My friend asked me to describe it in one word. The only thing that came to mind was "ambience". It's all about personality, atmosphere and character.

I threw a coin in Trevi Fountain hoping to return one day ! Let's hope wishes really do come true =)

My Family....My Heart.....

Inheritance - the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual.

I’ve always thought this was such an odd thing. You get (inherit)things from your family, whether you may want it or not, sometimes
whether you deserve it or not, because you are part of the family. And people actually ARGUE when they feel they’ve been cheated.
Hmmmm……..you didn’t earn it. But you deserve it. Right.

When mom passed away in 2012 all the things you’ve talked about amongst yourselves “hypothetically” became in your face
reality. Dad was moving things in to our names, we were signing papers, it was ALL just a bit overwhelming at the time. Since mom preceded her own mother in death (who died 8 months later) suddenly we found ourselves in the midst of “inheritance”.

My mamaw and papaw were not rich people. Papaw retired from Exxon Refinery. He worked hard, did shift work and provided for his family. But they were by no means rich. In my lifetime I don’t remember mamaw working outside the home. That doesn’t mean she
didn’t work. They were constantly taking in “stray people” that didn’t have a place to live or were going through a hard time. Mamaw cooked meals for sick people & taught Sunday School, they were active in their local church, and they loved God with all their heart.

Papaw missed the farm terribly so he took an early retirement, left the city and headed to open pastures. He built a beautiful house (with his own hands) on land they owned and had “inherited”. He was only able to enjoy that life for about 3 years. Shortly after he retired he found out he had Lo Gehrig’s Disease. He died shortly after.

So here’s mamaw, living out in the country (nearest neighbor was about ½ a mile) by herself, on about 250 acres of land, and had
no work experience. I still marvel even today that she lived as a widow for over 30 years without ever having to go to work or be a
burden on her family.

There was a small “cabin”, for lack of a better word, that sat on the property and she leased it out to deer hunters. There were also several people who occupied that little shack when they couldn’t afford anything else. She leased the land for gravel. She
leased the land for other farmers to put their cows on. She leased the land for them to drill for oil. It was truly amazing how “land” and my papaw’s small retirement from Exxon kept her alive for over 30 years. And now my mom’s mineral rights were passed on to us girls and they will be passed on to our kids.

She ended up selling the house with the land that it sat on, built a smaller house closer to neighbors and lived there for a while. Once she reached her middle 80’s it was time to move near her daughters. She sold her house and the rest of the farm. She managed to only live with mom & dad a short while, then moved into assisted living. She was able to financially take care of herself until the day she died at 95. AND……there was still a little money left. Sometimes I think of their life...how simple it was. They didn't need all the latest rage. They made do with what they had. And they were able to take care of themselves until their dying day. I'm sure there's a lesson there somewhere.

This is where “I” come in. I had no idea. Never even crossed my mind. Since mom had passed her portion was divided between us three girls. Wow ! Just because of my bloodline. I found this not only a gift but a responsibility. After all, this wasn’t MY money. I
didn’t earn it. In fact, lots of labor for generations had gone in to me receiving anything. No telling how much it
took for my “Great’s” to accumulate and buy that much land. I wanted to make Papaw and Mamaw proud with my choices.

My Papaw was a no nonsense man. He never liked being away from home. He would come to visit and was ready to go home in two days. He didn’t need anything fancy. He loved the farm and that was good enough for him. He was “practical”. He may not have been rich but he always managed to have a couple of quarters in his pocket to take you down to the General Store to buy a pushup. Enough money to put gas in his car and truck so you could drive it all over that farm before your feet could even touch the pedals. Mamaw. on the other hand, loved pretty things. Papaw was fairly strict so she only occasionally bought a piece of “glass” as she called it. When he passed she not only took care of her needs, bought a few “pretty’s” but actually traveled overseas with my Aunt and Uncle. I was so proud of her.

So here I am, trying my hardest to figure out what to do with THEIR money.

I decided to please them both. I did the practical first: bought glasses for everyone, paid for car repairs, paid for a wedding,
etc…….but I really wanted to do something special, something a little frivolous…like mamaw ! Something “just for fun” !

Several bucket list items came in to play. I wanted a passport. I wanted a stamp in my passport. I wanted to be able to fly overseas(that’s HUGE…never thought I’d be able to make it that long in a plane over water). I’m just a few shorts weeks away from making that dream come true thanks to my grandparents.

I hope they would be proud with my choices. I would love to sit down and thank them personally. Not for my monetary inheritance as much as for the tremendous inheritance I received from having them in my life. For their Christian example. For their work ethic. For their love for people. For their giving spirit. For being the greatest grandparents a girl could ever have. I guess until I get to heaven this will have to do……

“All roads lead to Rome….and we’ll always have Paris” Thank you so much ! I love and miss you both !