I got my first cell phone in 5th grade.
It was pre-iPhone era, just a simple Nokia with a black and green screen. I had to push “A” three times to get “C,” and had to fit my entire message into 20 characters – including spaces and punctuation. My only source of entertainment was Snake, but honestly what more do you need?
We were living in Naples, Italy at the time, and my school bus stop was at the base of Mt. Vesuvio, a live volcano that was long overdue to erupt. Mom had one too many nightmares about not being able to find us during an eruption (valid), and thus I received my Nokia, and became a pro at sending messages in under 20 characters. I was honestly more concerned about getting a high score in Snake, than the fact that I was inhaling sulfur each morning while waiting for the bus.
Napoli life was colorful, all day every day! I learned how to eat an entire pizza in one sitting (the trick is to fold it into quarters). Stop lights were optional and rarely observed. It wasn’t cold enough for Snow Days, but we did get Trash Days – when trash men would strike and trash would overflow too far into the streets to get anywhere. Those were smelly days, but exciting nonetheless – a day off is a day off! One particularly colorful moment happened when our school bus driver was caught speeding, and rather than slowing down, actually SPED UP and lost the police car, all on our way home from school. Here’s to you, James Bond Bus Driver.
Life was crazy, and if I’m being totally transparent, my 5th grade heart cared more about the stray kitten we adopted than the Mediterranean view from my bedroom window. But I fell in love with that chapter of life, and when it came time to move, it broke my heart to leave what had become home!
The weird thing is, even if I were to visit, it wouldn’t be the home I remember. Our friends have moved, the house is now occupied, and everything that made Napoli home isn’t so easily returned to. While I do still have that little Nokia, the charger got lost in the move, so I really can’t relive anything (and honestly, probably best to leave those 5th grade texts in the grave).
The only thing that can truly take me back HOME, are the pictures we took at the time.
So naturally, I love pictures.
I love how they can bring me back, at times to places that I may never physically go back to. Ben laughs that I refuse to delete the 4 candid pictures before the one good one of us – but I consider all of them a memory! You can’t delete memories??
So this is my space to share them with you – the places I call home, our marriage moments, and the stories I have the privilege to be a part of. Welcome to the blog, I can’t wait to share life with you!
Our little back yard! 
Meet Cinnamon! He loved us so much he would try to follow us into the car when we left – he stole our hearts! 
Capri was NOT in our back yard but close by. Cheers to beaded chokers and middle parts!
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