The Bonner Family is Moving to Naples, Italy for a three-year assignment. It's official at last. It took nearly a year from the time my husband Bone (who works for the US Navy) expressed interest in the position, to the time we received official orders. I have learned a lot about being OK with uncertainty over the last few seasons. Now, even though we don't know exactly when we're leaving (it will surely be soon), I'm OK with taking it as it comes.
I'm really fortunate to have grown up in a military family. I have a fondness for moving. I love how moving makes it possible to reinvent your life. Moving breaks you free of your habits, which creates an opportunity to start fresh and be better than you were before. Moving, true, takes familiar people and things away from you, but it gives much in return. It makes room in your life for new experience, new beauty, new opportunity, new learning, and new love.
For me, this move does not include as much grief as many of the moves of my childhood. We expect to be back in a few years. We're keeping our house. My family lives in this town, most of our friends will likely remain, and we fully intend to return. When I was a child, I lived among other transient military families. There was no chance of ever coming back to the same people. Saying goodbye usually meant forever.
Bone and I are learning Italian via Pimsleur Conversational Italian. It's good! Mr. Pimsleur was a pioneer in language-teaching who specialized in utilizing the psychology of memory in his methodology. The system is all audio/verbal. It allows you to work on the language while driving (Bone) and doing housework (me). It is very effective. Thank you, Mr. Pimsleur!
While speaking Italian might not be vital for Bone's job, it will certainly be vital for us at church. We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka Mormons). Church services in Naples will be in Italian. We want to participate fully and serve in the church: we will need to speak Italian! The church is building a Temple in Rome right now. It will be the first ever built in Italy. What an exciting time it will be for Latter-Day Saints living there.
There is much to do to get ready to go. Yesterday we bought a car to ship over. We've been advised to buy some armoires/wardrobes, as closets are not customary in Italy. Things are falling into place and we feel very grateful. Now I just need to go room by room and get rid of everything that we don't want to take with us. (I can do this. I can do this. I can do this...)
Overall, we are excited. We are eager. This is a crazy time, but it's already getting fun. Wow, can you believe it? We're headed to Italy!
