They say, “Find something you to love to do and you will never work a day in your life”. Not true. If you do what you love, you bust your ass every single day to make sure that what you are doing is a success, that it is the absolute best it can be, that it works. You care for that thing like it is your child, you suffer when things go wrong, you worry about it. It keeps you up at night, It’s like a new love. You can’t wait to get up in the morning to spend time with it, you think about it no matter where you are: in line at the grocery store, at a cocktail party, in the car, at the gym. It consumes you and that is not easy. It takes over your life, you compromise and sacrifice. And it is hard. But you love it, with every fiber of your being you love it. You work your ass off but you have chosen and continue to choose to do so.
I love what I do. For the past three years, I have poured my heart and soul into sharing my love for Italy with people. I design trips that change people’s lives. It may sound like hyperbole but it’s not. And nothing makes me happier. When I hear about Mary and her husband who danced in the Piazza della Repubblica while street musicians played, my heart soars. When Karen who brought her father to the village where his parents were born, I felt proud to have been able to organize that connection. When I was asked to plan an ultra-romantic trip for a woman who was hoping to rekindle her love with her ex-husband I just about crumbled. She and I knew there was no better place than Italy to do that.
There is only a small portion of clients who I join in Italy but to be witness to the expressions on their face when they taste the wine, when they see the architecture when they laugh with the beautiful people of Italy. I beam with pride. I created this.
To my friends and family who have supported me over the past three years. Grazie mille! I know that if you hear one more story about the good old days in Italy, if you have to try one more batch of biscotti or if I correct someone’s pronunciation of bruschetta one more time you might knock my head off. But I do appreciate your understanding and I do make you yummy treats, so I think we are even.
And to my wonderful clients, readers, followers, stalkers. Thank you for letting me share what I love with you for the past three years. Thank you for indulging me when I throw in a personal post here and there or when I just was too sad to write last year and went long stretches without giving you your Italian fix. Even if you can’t travel to Italy, I hope that L’Esperta has given you a little virtual escape to Rome, Florence, Venice, Puglia. I hope that you find comfort in the stories, inspiration in the recipes and a sense of community in the posts. That is what it is all about. It’s what Italy is all about and I look forward to another year (and many more) with you all. Buon Compleanno L’Esperta!