a tale of the tooth fairy and a tunnel of love

I have no idea if there is an Italian Tooth Fairy or if the “regular” one has frequent flier miles worldwide. Does she operate like the Big Guy In Red and knows where you’re sleeping 24/7/365? Does she have GPS tracking? How does her exchange rate work?

All questions I have no answers to.

What I do know, however, is that our mini traveler has just gotten her VERY FIRST EVER WIGGLY TOOTH!

And not just ONE wiggly tooth but TWO WIGGLY TEETH!!!

This is extremely exciting for all of us, mostly me. Poor Olivia, she has been so patient with her mama asking 20 times a day, “Can I just wiggle it one more time?”

I’m sure the novelty will soon wear off, but for now, this is pretty serious front-page-news for us.

I’m on the hunt for a t-shirt that says, “I Went All The Way To Italy And All I Got Was This T-Shirt And Two Wiggly Teeth”. I haven’t found it yet, but I’m sure it’s out there.

In other news, we had our final day in the Cinque Terre and packed in as much as could be tolerated by you-know-who (not naming any names). Here are a few of today’s headlines (second only to the breaking news above):

We continued our search for the perfect Christmas card photo:

We had one of Olivia’s oft-requested “family kisses” under the kissing sign of amore:

We may or may not have had more pizza:

We found art in unexpected places:

We got to know more of the locals. And used up another bottle of hand sanitizer:

We continued to fine-tune our newfound talents:

We relaxed on the beach. And by “we” I mean “me”. Thanks, love.

I’m not saying we did and I’m not saying we didn’t eat more gelato:

We took a moment to reflect on then versus now:

You may have heard that this delicate and precious world site was severely damaged by flooding and mudslides just seven short months ago. The top half of this picture is a poster hanging in town that shows the destruction. The bottom half is a picture I took of the exact same area today.

What the people here have done to rebuild their beloved area is nothing short of miraculous. If you are considering a trip to Europe and are unsure where to go, please consider the Cinque Terre. This area needs our help more than ever, and the people here are immensely grateful for the support.

Last but not least, we danced in the streets without any music, and celebrated with joyful laughter and good cheer:

In conclusion, I did make a modest to-do list today. It said, “Buy more wine.”

What is something that brought you joy today? I’d love to hear from you!