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At this classic time of year for looking back – and forward – I’d like to cap this year of Godzillavilla stories not with what went wrong, but with what went right about the whole crazy adventure.
People are inclined to lament the passing of the villa from my life. Increasingly, I myself view it as something that can’t, actually, ever pass from me. It’s a dream that I couldn’t see through to completion in the sense of a finished house, but it has gone to completion in the sense that Godzillavilla no longer fits the needs of my family or of me. Sometimes we need to release old dreams in favour of new ones, as live unfolds. That’s not a bad thing.
Godzillavilla’s presence in our lives (and particularly in mine) has been defining in a way that will never be erased. Here are some of the things I’ve gained from my adventure with our monster:
- A love for the incredible, serene beauty of the landscape, something that I now understand to be vital to my wellbeing, wherever I may find it.
- An appreciation for the connectedness of the community and its incredible willingness to help us, peripheral as we were to its daily ebb and flow. Also vital.
- An understanding of the continuity of history, the tiny blip we make individually on its surface, and the healthy perspective that brings to our daily grumbling and sense of self-importance.
- A knowledge of Italian life and culture that was different and more intimate than what I got from living in Milan. A crazy, delightful, sometimes frustrating, sometimes mystifying and always edifying look at how other people find their joy and meaning.
And a deep commitment to continuing to have adventures and dreams, for the richness they bring to our lives, for the heights they inspire us to achieve, the shift in perspective they provide, and for the power those things bring to bear on even the most mundane aspects of our days.
For all of you who have been kind enough to read my tales, I wish for you a 2013 filled with dreams and adventure, and I thank you for joining me on mine. More to come!
Godzillavilla 
You have absolutely finished the year on a high Shelagh – elevating so many of us along the way with your intelligence and your sincerity. And your real desire to let your experience be a lesson for others too. I hope you keep blogging and exploring these lessons – for us and for yourself – but I know too your new year will be full of new adventures big and small with your family. Sending you my thanks and love,
Janine x
Thanks, Janine, for your constant support. I am indeed intending to explore these lessons further and have been working on a project that I hope to unveil soon.
By the way, I loved your idea of having a big dinner gathering in Italy of all the bloggers – I would be there in a flash for that, if you ever actually make it happen!
Shelagh, that lunch is fast becoming a real project. I’ve had a super response. I just have to make it so….with a little help from my friends. 😉
Shelagh, Thanks for your great insight and interesting blog. I’m learning the same about my big old colonial in New Hampshire. It will be quite some time before I’m willing and able to sell, but that time may come. I’ll look for something more manageable. But the love of my surroundings in rural New England and the love of an old home is still strong. Perhaps not stronger than my back and my wallet though.
I think when you’re actually living in the place it’s easier to understand its value to you. Whenever I was in Scurtabo I woke up every day thinking ‘another day in paradise’ and it felt totally worth it. When separated from it, however, the gross reality of the task of rebuilding the house would loom, without that nice feeling attached to it – and I was away far more than I was there, so that’s the voice I ultimately had to listen to.
I hope you manage to stay in your love-place for as long as it continues to feel good and worth it to you. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the blog.
Here’s to you Shelagh! You have articulated my sentiments exactly as we continue to stagger through our Italian dream and become more practical about it day by day. There is no way I would currently be anywhere else but here in this wonderful area, but I realise perhaps one day we may have to let go and move on, however for now, we relish each day of our journey and hope we may be able to complete it!
All the best to you! I’m glad you’re enjoying your adventure, that’s what they’re for. And Italy’s special charms make them even better.
Thank you for the share!
My pleasure – it’s been great writing about all of it.
I hope everything works out for you in 2013.
Thanks Debra. I have a lot of experience making things work out after setbacks, so I feel optimistic about the future.
Thank you for sharing the wisdom gained the hard way, Shelagh. I was born in Italy and keep hankering to go back, even thought of buying the house my mother grew up in because after the death of her brother and sister-in-law it went up for sale ..and it wasn’t even as picturesque as Godzillavilla. The desire to own a bit of one’s own earth is strong…but your experience is a bit of a cautionary tale. I’ll save my shekels and rent..or swap my downtown Toronto home if I can. Thank you for inviting us along for the ride.
My pleasure, thank you for reading!