Big News! I'm Going to Rome!

One day several weeks ago, at a brunch with family, I indulged my fantasies about actually going to the places where I set my stories. But, with a son about to start college, that dream seemed just that--a sweet imagining.

Then, just a couple of days ago, my mother handed me an envelope--and inside it was an invitation for a mother-daughter trip to Roma!

Can you believe it? Is that the sweetest thing you've EVER HEARD?! I was struck speechless with awe and gratitude.

My dad is graciously stepping aside for this mother-daughter trip and I am just beside myself with excitement and joy. Rome! Pompeii! Ostia! Neapolis!

This fall, y'all!

I've been on the hunt for English-speaking archaeologists and/or classicists whom I can engage to walk me through some of these sites, which is not so easily done since most American scholars are back at their universities in the fall for classes.  But some lovely people are helping me in the process, so I'm hopeful.

I was talking about this trip with my daughter and she said, "Mom, this is a dream come true for you, isn't it?"

And all I could say was, "Yes, yes it is."

I. Cannot. Wait.

Soon, I will be able to say, "I came. I saw. I squeed!"