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On the edge of seventy years... A year ago when I celebrated my sixty ninth turn around the sun, I took some time to let the reality of my time here- in this time and place. It was kind of wild to think of what the world was like when I arrived in 1954 - a veritable poster child for the post war baby boom. My father was a high school grad and Navy veteran scrambling for a place on the career ladder- and reading the dictionary each night in bed to try and level the playing field against a fresh batch of college graduates. He used his naturally creative brain and pure will to find a place on that ladder and climb. He worked pretty much seven days a week but his work also took him around the world - a passion he handed down to me. My mother wanted other things, even if she couldn’t really explain what they were. She chased that elusive thing that would finally make her happy for her 84 years - and sadly- never found it in the family that loved her. This too was a lesson that was tattooed across my heart. A lesson to love the life I had, and to find joy in even the challenges. I pursued the passions that were undeniable, art and writing- which sometimes provided a living/ other times simply a respite from he inevitable bumps in the road. I found an unexpected career that allowed me to be a guide, a coach, a shoulder, and sometimes a teacher in a global organization that helped me raise my kids in a safe and happy home. I took chances. And there are no regrets. I moved to London at 59 and knew no one. Six years later I would take a treasure chest full of friends and experiences and new people and so many new lessons learned. I have lived through men walking on the moon, rock and roll in black and white and then technicolor, a changing political landscape and a burgeoning awareness for many people like me- of the inequities in this world. I watched a new fear grow against the backdrop of terrorism. I worried about nuclear weapons. Again. I watched that fear grow into an obsession with weapons and a lack of care for mental health turn into headlines and so many dead in mass shootings. I wrote and published a memoir. And some of my family cut me out of their lives because they didn’t like what I had to say. I took chances. No regrets. I lived through a modern pandemic. I mourned the people we all lost. I celebrated the new lives that came. I watched my children become brilliant and beautiful humans. I wrote another book. And I waited for the world to be safe again. I moved to Italy and began the process to become a citizen based on ‘jure sanguine’ - the law of the blood. I have my grandfather Umberto Caputo to thank. I found a home with a view of mountains and a lake and the most exquisite endless reel of sunsets that never cease to catch me off guard and leave me gasping at the sheer beauty of the natural world. I found kind and funny and resourceful people. I found myself thinking in a new language. I made unexpected connections with people that have become a part of my heart in a war that steals lives daily, and i have learned that in this world we must all behave like family and fight against evil. No matter what. I took chances. No regrets. I’m sitting in the airport at Linate- waiting for my flight to Bari, in Apulia- also known as Puglia. Tomorrow I will welcome my daughter and my ‘soul sister’ and five forever friends for a week of exploring and hugs and catching up and more hugs and glorious food and yes there will be dancing. I decided that this year I would celebrate in all the ways that I imagined. And I imagined this very special viaggio- and in an hour, it will begin to unfold I am so grateful for the opportunities and the privilege of my circumstances that allowed me to create a life that continues to show me where my work is and how to serve. And that inspires me to take chances, and to live without regret. I wish you all nothing less than this. Here’s to the start of a new decade!  |
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