Between moving and leaving: a new chapter for La Meridiana
After an intense period of moving, working and travelling to Italy, we are now one important step closer to our emigration to Tuscany and the further development of La Meridiana.
After a short absence, we are back. And how.
With a website in a new jacket.
So much has happened over the past period that it is almost impossible to capture it all in one blog. And yet, we are going to try. Because this is exactly the phase in which everything seems to happen at once: moving, making plans, building a new website, working, travelling to Italy — all mixed together. When I write it down, it sounds like a lot. But when you are living it, it is mostly just moving forward step by step.
First of all: we have moved.
Not to Italy — no, not yet — but we have taken an important step closer to our emigration to Italy. It was a move that mainly had to create space. Space to let go of what lies behind us and space to continue building what lies ahead. It may sound strange, but the emptier the house became, the less it felt like our home. Letting go, or saying goodbye, suddenly became a lot easier.
We have now landed in Liempde, with Hanneke’s parents. How special it is that we have the opportunity to use the entire bed & breakfast. It feels like a stopover, but one that gives direction.
And in the midst of all the chaos of moving, moving things again and settling in, the website also decided to have an opinion of its own. Something I appreciated a little less in this case. Due to the success of the website, the provider had decided that we were using too much data. That resulted in two options: start paying a lot more, or figure it out ourselves. The latter appealed to us most.
But in a period when time is scarce and creativity does not always come naturally, building a new website is not exactly a straightforward project. Still, there is now a website again. And secretly, I am quite proud of the result. If the lady from customer service happens to be reading along: your advice — “just start all over again” — was, to put it mildly, not something I appreciated at the time. Looking back, I am grateful for it after all. 🙂
In hindsight, it fits this phase quite well. Sometimes something first has to come to a standstill before space can be created for something new. The website is back online, but in a new jacket. Calmer, clearer and more in line with where La Meridiana is growing towards. Not just a place to share our story, but also a place where our plans for life in Tuscany are slowly becoming visible.
The temporary place in Liempde feels a bit like a holiday home. It is not yours, it does not feel like yours, but it is a pleasant place to stay. Knowing that this is temporary makes this step feel light, but meaningful at the same time. Living close to your parents and parents-in-law now, and soon living 1,450 kilometres away in Italy, feels like a transition from the familiar to the new.
Precisely because of all the organising, finishing and looking ahead over the past period — from boxes, and I honestly cannot look at another moving box, to plans, conversations and, above all, endless lists in my head — the realisation is starting to sink in: we really are on our way.
La Meridiana is no longer an idea for later. It has become part of the present.
Well… almost.
The structural survey was supposed to be completed on April 1st. It is now the end of April, and I can say that it has still not been completed. Does that cause stress? No, not really. Well, alright — it does give us something to think about. Because what if buying the house in Italy does not go ahead after all?
Fortunately, it is the May holiday. The children have two weeks off. So we decide to head down to Italy. We need answers, we need to see things for ourselves, we need clarity. But also: to feel the sun, enjoy time together as a family, and prepare ourselves for the next sprint towards emigrating to Tuscany.
In the next blog, I would like to take you along in the further developments around the house. The website has been updated, and yes — the house in the foreground is indeed the house we intend to buy. But whether it will be granted to us…
In the next blog, we will take you with us.