Moving to the USA: Struggles and New Goals

You may have seen the news on Facebook and Instagram or you may be hearing about it for the first time here, but Mr. Italicano, Baby Italicana and I are spending the rest of 2018 in the USA and who knows what the future will hold!

In a perfect world, I would have written this post on the plane and published it the day we arrived like a blogging sorceress. But, I was a little distracted…:-) 

So, here I am two months later finally getting it online. Oh dear, am I slow. I have so much respect for the moms who got this whole work life/mom life balance down. I am constantly struggling to be the best mom I can be for Pepper, a good wife to Mr. Italicano, a caring friend, a competent cooking instructor and communication strategist for our clients and a valuable content creator for Italicana Kitchen.

Yet, I feel like I am achieving mediocre results in many of these areas as I juggle to keep all of them afloat. Or flat out failing; like, not posting on this blog for two months. Surely, I have “good” excuses like being a new parent. 

Or, working on projects for clients and moving across the world…but I’ve seen people who have a lot more going on who are able to get more things done, like all of my favorite food and mom bloggers on Instagram. Somehow they are able to create fantastic stories, photography, video and valuable content daily. I know that to create a beautiful photo, a video or a live story where everything seems easy and perfect, behind the scenes there was a lot of work, preparation and attention to details. You need a lot of time and imagination. I admire those who have found a rhythm and who are organized and efficient. I often don’t succeed. I often feel like a disaster.  

I’m trying to go easy on myself, but sometimes it’s hard.

Mr. Italicano has been a great friend.

Just the other day he told me these very wise words as I was having a meltdown on how much there is to do and how little time there is to do it. He said,  “Do one thing well each day. That’s it. Concentrate on doing one thing well and at the end of the day you’ll be satisfied with your work and will probably have learned something new. At the end of the year, you’ll have done 365 things well.”

This is great advice for people like me who have so many dreams and ambitions that I sometimes get so overwhelmed with all the things I want or need to do that I freeze up just looking at the long list.

Do just one thing well each day.

That is going to be my new mantra. Especially since I have so many new challenges in store. Maybe I’ll be able to accomplish them faster than my last goals. Thanks, Mr. Italicano. 🙂

Moving back to the Unites States after spending 10 years traveling and living abroad has closed a chapter and has opened a new one in my life. Before embarking on this journey in 2008, I had made a list of goals

1. Travel the world
2. Live abroad for an extended period of time
3. Learn fluent Italian
4. Write a novel

This list was my compass that guided me throughout the last decade and it’s been a wild adventure pursuing these dreams and passions. In 2008 I spent 10 months traveling to 13 countries before settling in Italy where I’ve lived for the past nine years. Mr. Italicano says that I am fluent in the language and that I even talk better than some Italians, but I still make so many grammatical and pronunciation mistakes. I think it’s safe to say that learning a language is a lifelong endeavor.  And, my novel? Well, if it weren’t for the inner critique, fear of failure and straight laziness I would have finished it and tried publishing it ages ago. It’s been written for over two years now, but I haven’t yet gone through the next steps of editing or trying to get it published. I still believe in this book, and my childhood dream of becoming a successful writer. So as this new chapter begins for Mr. Italicano, Pepper and I, I’ve reflected a lot about what is important to me as I created a new list of goals. As I’ve found in the past, in order to accomplish big things I’ve got to dream big. And, then take Mr. Italicano’s advice: do one thing well each day to achieve these goals.

My new goals:

1. Raise curious, courageous and compassionate children.
2. Build a successful business with Mr. Italicano that gives us a creative outlet, brings us personal satisfaction, keeps our minds challenged, helps our customers solve a problem, does well for the environment and give us monetary means to one day afford a small house and a boat on the lake surrounded by nature.
3. Publish my novel and continue to write until I become a best selling author.
4. Continue to learn and share with others all I have learned about the Mediterranean Diet Lifestyle by teaching cooking classes in Seattle, publishing regular content on Italicana Kitchen, writing for magazines, appearing on TV cooking shows and writing a cookbook.

These goals won’t be accomplished overnight. They will probably take 10 years…20 years…or even longer. But now I have a plan and a new compass that will keep me on path. I know there will be challenges ahead with both successes and failures. The successes will keep me going when I want to give up, and the failures are how I will learn the most. I know that I won’t necessarily be “the best” in whatever I do, but as long as “I’m my best” that is all that I can ask of myself. And, with showing up and giving it my all, it’s the perseverance to keep going until I make my dreams happen is what will make the difference.

Coming soon, I’ll be sharing a new calendar of cooking classes and demos around the Seattle area. I hope to see you in person at some of these events. I cannot thank you enough for supporting me in this journey and in our common love for delicious simple foods.

And, you? What are some of your long term goals and what is your mantra for keeping you on course to achieving your dreams?

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