European Lifestyle in Ohio

This is it!  This is what I've been trying to figure out.  When I started my first blog, I had no idea what I would write about, I just knew I had to start writing & I could figure the details out later.  Motherhood was the only thing I could think of, probably because I just had my 3rd baby a month ago (I can't believe it's already been a month) & my children currently absorb 99% of my time, thoughts, & energy.  I had no idea what exactly I'd put in the blog though.  I'm not an expert on anything, I don't have any helpful advice or good ideas for other parents.  I need those from others.  I'm the one scouring Pinterest & Google for indoor play ideas when it's been raining for a week straight, the kids have cabin fever & are driving me nuts.  Over the last week though, I've been thinking about who I am outside of being a mother, since that's what the writing was supposed to give me; an identity outside of motherhood (hence my first post in my Mommy of 3 blog)

I'm not an expert on anything.  I am passionate about some things though, & I have a passion for old world living.  I love everything I hear about life in Italy, France, & Spain.  The food, architecture, language, home decor, & the way Europeans (especially in rural areas) approach life in general.  From what I hear (which is all I have to go by as I've never been to Europe, though I've always dreamed of going) it's slower than life here & more centered around family.  I want that. I want everything that lifestyle has to offer.  I'd love to shop at a local market every day, where the lady that sells grapes & tomatoes from her family farm knows my children.  I'd love to come home & throw open the windows that have been gazing silently out on an ancient country for over a century & feel the breeze that fills the gauzy curtains hanging from them, turning them into sheer sails.  I want to believe the old wooden table I feed my children at would have heartfelt stories to tell of those who came before us.  Stories of people gathering together around it & the simple daily meals & extravagant holiday feasts shared between family & friends over the decades.  I want to take my children to see Brunelleschi's dome atop the Duomo in Florence.  I want them to learn about Renaissance art & then take them to visit the museums where that art stands.  I want to teach them another language & see them reach out to others, abandon their hesitations & interact with people of other cultural backgrounds.  I want to do that.  I want to discard my introverted tendencies, swallow my fear of failure & attempt to cross a language barrier, broadening my view on the world & it's people.

Someday, I'll visit there.  Someday I hope to live there.  In the mean time, I can write about it while I dream.  I want to capture the feeling of old world living in my own home & share that feeling with you. Maybe you'll want to try it too.