Weathering the Storm with the WP# 39

Another week in transition, but one with my future in mind, not just short term, but long-term.

I mentioned last week that I had returned from Iceland, stayed grounded in my temporary New England domicile and worked not only on travels for my valued clientele, but also my part time gig, albeit more than part time or even seasonal, and almost feeling that I am part of something. I have had several people ask when I am coming “home”, meaning Minnesota and that is a very hard question to answer, one I am not sure at all. I feel like I am becoming part of something in New England, and Minnesota, is my past, not my future. Please don’t get me wrong, I was there for 30 years and was raised there with a stint in New York City in between, the place from which I am originally, and a year in France when I was 12 which some of you may know. Of course, short term and long term are two different things and maybe this time in New England is simply a detour enroute to a bigger picture.

I know I will have to return to Minnesota in the short term. I still have feelings there and friends, of course, but the longer I am away, and in reality, I don’t have a home there, and don’t want to settle in for the long term, it becomes a more distant memory, one now, going back to simply to gather or get rid of my worldly things, and moving forward, whether here or across the pond, where I am now. Yes, I am currently in London and when this posts, I will have moved on to where my heart truly is and that is Rome and home is where the heart is and when you read this, I will be with her.

My short time in London has been fruitful to say the least and I enjoyed the short time here. I was, like when I was in Iceland a few weeks back, able to re-connect with some very good colleagues and start potential future business partnerships and that is exciting. This being the third time across the pond (or the second), since Iceland was only halfway, included my third live and in person meetings and that bodes well both for my business future, but also travel in general as we more and more get used to living with Covid, which will be with us for a while, but optimism was truly felt at this latest conference by those with whom I had conversations and positivity brings more positivity. We do not want to dwell on the negative, unless, of course, it is a Rapid Antigen or PCR test.

I also enjoyed an evening out with colleagues at a hosted wine and food tasting from an Enoteca the Kensington High Street and that was very enjoyable. The other very enjoyable experience I had here in the UK was to get out of the city and head to Blenheim Palace, which if you do not know, was the birthplace of one Winston Spencer Churchill, and the day turned out quite nice. The palace and the grounds are very nice, and I enjoyed the day traveling by train and re-acquainting myself with this very important figure in modern history. Thank you for standing up to Nazi Germany.

Arrival day in Rome was fairly straightforward. Negative Covid test uploaded, health declaration form uploaded, vaccine card, uploaded into the British Airways system, all which must be done to check in and even after this as part of check in, you have to fill out a form on the aircraft. Not sure if this is a BA policy, but more likely, a government policy. Anyway, the pandemic has added to the bureaucracy around the world beyond the usual passport controls and customs declarations, but I am here in Italy for the week and after checking in, I reunited with Rosa and we spent the rest of the day together, which made me very happy!!! That is what this week is for, she and I and while she does have to work and I have travels to arrange for my valued clients, we will make the time for each other and that is what is most important!!! Ciao until next week’s edition.

​As always, I am interested in your thoughts, comments, questions and adding to the discourse is always appreciated be in on the site itself or on Facebook, Twitter or wherever you read this. Thank you for your support of this small business and it is truly appreciated!!!