I have heard that the Anticipation of something can be as and possibly more exciting than the actual event.  For example, when you tickle a child, all you have to do is position you hands as if you are going to tickle and the child will start laughing in anticipation of the tickle.

I guess I am like that child today.  I have been studying, preparing and anticipating my trip to Italy for the last 9 months, ever since I booked the Condos and flights.  In fact, I have anticipated this trip ever since I completed my LDS mission in Italy back in 1979.

I have reviewed, studied and finally booked tours in Rome, Florence and Milan.  I have mapped out distances, travel times and costs associated with the travel.  I have put together an itinerary of the whole trip, leaving a few days free for exploration.  I have booked Air BnB places for Venice and Pompeii, allowing us to spend more time exploring those areas.  I have listened to Italian Radio, read Italian books and am doing everything I can to get my brain around the Italian language, again.  To say the least, this trip has been a main focus over the past few months and one that I have enjoyed.  I am still concerned about the language not being where I would like it, but it will not stop me from having a great time.

So, the time has arrived.  We will leave for Italy on Tuesday evening, spending a day and a half getting to Milan.  We will fly from Salt Lake to JFK (New York), to Moscow, and then finally landing in Milan.  We will then have a 2 hour drive to the first condo in Sestriere, Italy.

I will be documenting this trip (the best I can) with posts and photos (see Italy 2016).  I have been on trips in the past and someone will inevitably say this trip is going by too fast.  Not true, all experiences pass at the same rate, one second, one minute, one hour, one day at a time.  It is all about enjoying the moment and not allowing it to pass without wonder. Enjoy each and every experience, each new day with all the new/old activities it brings and be grateful for the opportunity of all the experiences we get in life.  We are enriched and enlightened new day and it is up to us what we do with it.

Isn’t this what life is all about?  We set a goal, be it a painting, new job or whatever we want to achieve.  This creates an anticipation, something to look forward to.  Then we work toward that goal, doing everything necessary to see it through.  Then the day arrives that we achieve/complete the goal and what exhilaration we feel having arrived.   Once completed we are satisfied with what we have learned from the experience.  We then take that learning and set another goal and so it goes.  This is what makes life worth living.  If, for what ever reason, we stop setting and achieving our personal goals, our lives will slowly atrophy to a point that we find no excitement in life and stop living.  I chose to live and will continue to set goals, be them work, travel, personal or spiritual.

I chose to enjoy my life until the day it ends and then I plan on looking back and recognizing all that I have learned through every experience, both good and bad, and thank God for the opportunity of living this life.