Mother's Day, Italy, cycling and dreams

You It was Mother's Day last Sunday. You were at your cousins' house for the day. Looking out of the garden room that morning at the snowdrops and the blackbird building a nest, I felt a pang of sadness that we weren't together. We spend every weekend together though and I knew that this little adventure would be good for you, and me. 

I don't want to just work, pay for things and exist but to really live each moment. It may be that we can't have fancy expensive holidays but I promise that, instead, we'll do the things that we really want to do. This summer we'll have a rustic Italian mountain adventure. We'll pack up the car and drive all the way across Europe with our closest friends taking in all of the sights and sounds along the way. We'll stop at alpine cafes. We'll cross mountain passes. We'll stay in pretty towns and we'll BBQ under the Italian mountain stars when we arrive. Real life and real places.

http://www.myfamilyandabruzzo.com/?m=1 (Auntie Lulu's blog about where we're going) 

You and Alfie will love your summer holiday together (not forgetting little Ralph)

We may not be together for every moment but I want to be one of the lead characters in your book. To inspire you to live. Which means that I should live my life, not just dream it, spending a little bit of time apart so that we can grow together in different ways. 

My adventure last weekend with the Women's Eastern Racing League

And home again

Today it's just you and me. You're chatting to yourself in the next room making up adventures for your toys to live. Make space for your own adventures too sweetie, and don't ever be scared to embark on them. They'll always be worth it. 

My beautiful little girl with a head full of dreams

To my little woman-in-waiting

Being your Mummy, it's not always easy. When I first got you, could you tell I was scared? I was. I often am. But doing things that scare you always gives you the most amazing things. It's International Women's Day today. When I read this back in years to come I'll remember the 38 year old me as the one who cared passionately about the future for all of our girls and women, for you. My angle differs from the current thinking which calls for quotas and change. I'd like to educate from the ground up. To empower girls to strive for more. I can start with you and may never get further than that but I will hope that, even if I don't inspire anyone else, then at least you might. 

For now, I'm watching you flourish. Your face now holds the baby that you were and the young girl that you're becoming. It is the most beautiful transformation and so freaking amazing. Nature is amazing. 

I hope that you have dreams and desires and the confidence to make them happen. I hope that, when you travel, you are humbled by the vastness of the world. I hope that one day you will stop being scared and you will use the stars and the moon to see that the darkness is beautiful. I hope that you keep caring and I hope you can enjoy all that the world has to offer. Dream big sweetheart. Be able to say, "I can't believe I did that." Not, "I wish I'd tried."

"I've dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they've gone through me, like wine through water, and altered the colour of my mind" ~ Emily Brontë