I've told everyone that my 6-year old niece JJ is coming to visit us here in Florence. It'll be her first trip to Europe ever! Of course, she's not coming alone, she's bringing her parents too. It has been planned for quite a while and each time I talk to her on the phone she asks me when we're going to see each other again. "Soon," I always say.
She is the only person I have a hard time being away from. And, now it's already been 4 months since I've seen her. Each time I talk to her on the phone, I'm practically in tears when I hang up because I miss her so much. And sometimes I can't even bring myself to call her because it saddens me.
I went to my favorite chocolate place, Vestri, and told the guy who works there that my niece is coming next week. I don't even know his name, but I told him anyway as I picked out the biggest chocolate Easter egg they had.
I went to another shop looking at these hand-made dolls they have there and told the woman there that my niece was coming and that I'll be bringing her in to pick one.
All of my friends have known for weeks that JJ is coming. They even ask me when they can come by to meet her. How can they not know who she is...almost all the pictures of family in our apartment are of her. A part of me wants to show her off to everyone as if she were my own daughter while another part of me doesn't want to share her with anyone. Especially since I know that a week will go by so fast!
But as JJ always says, "Sharing is good."
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