Struggling in a new place

We have been living in Italy for over 8 months now. It has been one of the hardest things we have ever done, moving. It has taken me far longer to get adjusted and settled here than I ever thought it would. I am still experiencing firsts. I drove my daughter to school today, off base for the first time, alone. It only took me 8 months to get my driver's license and feel secure enough to drive. In the states, that would be unheard of. Here, I am surrounded by things within walking distance, and I have great friends who have been wonderful about driving.

It has taken me eight months to get settled, but it has taken Connor even longer. He does not do well with big changes. He doesn't voice his concern, but he shows it in his behavior. After Christmas, he had a pretty significant regression. He was completely pulled from his normal class, and put into a one on one learning situation. It was a short term fix, but a scary one too. I knew that he needed to either get back into the classroom, or be pulled full time and homeschool. This is his first week back, and so far so good. I am on high alert though. At any moment I know it might be the time to pull him and try something else. I have to do what is best for my child of course. Knowing what the best thing is, isn't always the easiest thing. He is happy again. That is all I can ever ask.

I have intentions of writing about living gluten free in Italy. I hope when things calm down here, I will have the chance to do that. It really is an amazing place full of extremes. The good things are amazing. The not so good things, are really not so good. It is just easy to live here gluten free. It is far easier to live here on our diet than anywhere I have been in the states. Once you know how to say gluten free in Italian, you are set! I walk into any restaurant in Italy and say "Senza Glutine" and they know what I mean. Refreshing...