Be There and Showing Up....
I am 4 days into a 12-day trip to Naples, Italy (aka Napoli) with Charles and my 18- and 19-year-old nieces. This is their first time in Europe, and they are truly capturing and taking in every moment. They are from a blended family that was formed when my sister and her husband married, combining five young children who are now all emerging into adulthood. We are celebrating their high school graduations and their transition into the next phase of life and study. When the girls were very young—in first grade and pre-K—my sister became a single mom. Many times, I had to step in and assist with the kids since my sister was an elementary school teacher and the cost of childcare was barely within her budget. I would pick them up from school each day, and every year when my sister had summer in-service training, I would take a week off work and take the girls on planned adventures around Houston. At the end of the week, we would go shopping for new school shoes, which, as they grew u...