Here are some highlights and major events of the Thoman family’s 2018. January: In the final hours of the last day of 2017, December 31, Katia and I checked out of the pediatric hospital of Ancona, Salesi, (about eight hours after they had said they were going to let us go) with our new bundle of joy and third child, Michael. Though our older two are now pre-teens, the 3-hour cycle of changing a diaper followed by milking, burping, and laying down came back fairly quickly. Though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend having a child in your mid-forties, I will say that he has brought much joy into our family and none of us (especially the older ones) could imagine life without little Michael. February: Not wanting Iacopo to feel neglected, I took him to the celebrated Ferrari museum in Maranello (not far from Modena) where we marveled at famed race cars and legendary drivers alike. Later, in March, I took him to Milan to see his favorite soccer (football as you say here) team (squad as you say here), Inter, play against my favorite team (squad), Napoli. The game (match as you say here) ended in a 1-1 tie (draw as you say here). So since neither of us could taunt the other with victory and we were both experiencing that blasé “I’m not really happy but at least I’m not disappointed” feeling after your team (squad) ties (draws), we went into the center of Milan where I made a deal with Iacopo: if would attend Mass with at the Duomo, I would take him to the Inter Store Milano. He agreed and we both went away with some satisfaction -- me at having attended an Ambrosian-rite Mass and Iacopo with an official blue and black striped jersey. March: In late February/early March, a huge once-every-thirty-or-so-years snowstorm struck Loreto. Over the course of five days, the Adriatic coast was pounded by a powerful snowstorm ominously named Burian; apparently, a cold front originating in Siberia in the east collided with moist air from the south blanketing the Adriatic coast with 40 cm (16 inches) of snow! It was fun sledding with the kids, but after a week, everyone was ready to get on with our lives. For Easter break, we were blessed with the arrival of my dad and nephew. While Grandpa had to refresh his baby-holding skills (no, Michael is not a briefcase), Zach found a rubber band on the ground and pulled his hair back in what, I suppose, was fashionable to Italians. We only had less than a week as he had to get back to school, so we “did” the local area as well as Assisi, Bologna, Venice, and Rome at breakneck speed. At the end of the six-day jaunt, Zach observed: “Italians [I think he meant us] spend a lot of time eating, visiting churches, and watching soccer.” Yes, that is correct. April: just after my birthday and before April 15, I took a few days and headed back stateside. I didn’t get my taxes finished and had to file an extension anyway. I had a few Spring pilgrimages and I met Scott and Sam, two deacons from Washington, and walked part of the St. Francis Cammino with them; we only missed one turn, and it was my fault as I like to gab about what’s going on in cities and countries where my participants come from. They had a great attitude: “We’re not trying to impress anyone; we’re here for the experience not the destination,” and they were totally fine taking taxis around the big hills and mountains. Later that month, Fr. Al and parishioners from Immaculate Heart of Mary parish from Atlanta came on pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. May: We were blessed with the presence of two brothers in blood and religion, Frs. Jim and Tony Blount, SOLT who came from Georgia and Michigan to be with us to baptize little Michael. I don’t think the fifty or so Italians who came to the baptism were expecting quite what they got (if you know Fr. Jim, you know what I’m talking about; if not, let’s just say that Fr. Jim is gifted with many charisms). After the baptism, Fr. Jim really wanted to go down to the Gargano mountains in Puglia -- the “holiest place on earth” in his words -- to spend time in prayer at the grotto of St. Michael the Archangel as well as the tomb of St. Padre Pio. As often happens with Fr. Jim, special moments of singular grace and intercession punctuated our journey. June: I continued to sell and promote my books on St. Clare, released in 2017, and St. Francis, which came out in paperback this year (and is considerably more inexpensive than the hardbound). Though Edizione Porziuncola purchased the rights to publish in Italian (and Katia and I translated it two years ago), I would like to be able to say that the Italian edition has already been released, but it hasn’t. It was supposed to be released this summer, but got delayed to October, then to November, and now I don’t know when… Sigh…! Oh, I read something about an international soccer tournament over the summer, but as neither Italy nor the US even qualified, that’s all I’m going to say about that. July: For the month of July, all five of us went back home to Peachtree City to visit and introduce our family and friends to Little Guy. It was great spending July 4 with the Colsons, getting current flying with Mike Muller and Dale Carley, having tacos with the Bergholts, skiing and tubing at the lake house with the Nugents, attending an Atlanta United game with the Kelseys. Thanks to Kevin and Nina for taking our older ones to Destin while Katia and I did nothing at mom’s big house. Finally, since my kids can’t seem to get enough Chick-fil-A sandwiches, we visited the corporate museum near Atlanta; I’ve always been impressed with Truett Cathy’s business style and success. August: At the end of July, we returned to Italy and tacked on an Italian vacation to the US one (August is so hot in Italy it’s hard to work!); we went down to Mottola and spent some time with Katia’s family. September-October: Over the Fall months, I earned my living with my peak season pilgrimage groups. We had some walking groups from Assisi to Rome and from Camaldoli to Assisi; we had a great group of enthusiastic pilgrims who came to Assisi and commemorated 15 years of business; we had a few families visiting Venice, Florence, Assisi, and Rome. Though tiring, there were many blessings. Thanks to all who came, and all who helped out! Thanks to my friend David, who put together this nice video of some snapshots of our experiences! November: In early November, our family was blessed with the presence of my Franciscan literary hero, Fr. Murray Bodo, OFM, for lunch with us in Loreto. His book, “The Journey and the Dream” was the first biography I ever read on St. Francis. He is just as gracious and kindly in person as he is in his books. Then I dropped off the radar for six weeks and went full-immersion translating a scholarly book about 13th-century Franciscan history and Giotto. Fifty-thousand words didn’t seem like a big deal when I signed the contract with Paulist Press, but I soon found out it was. I occasionally came up for air to change a diaper or accompany the kids to school or soccer or volleyball, but that’s about it. Katia was relieved when it was over. December: Finally, for the holiday of the Immaculate Conception, I took the family to Florence. The Tuscan capital city will always remain in my heart, as it is the first Italian city I ever visited and lived in, it is where I learned Italian as an undergrad and graduate student, and set me on the path I’m still on. For some reason I assumed my kids would be just as excited about Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, the history of the Medici family and the bankers, the Renaissance, the art churches and museums… but they’re not. Instead, they were enthralled with a pastry shop called Venchi where liquid chocolate flows like a waterfall along the rear wall and you can get all flavors of gelato and other goodies. Sigh. I will say they did listen to a guide I hired who took them on a treasure hunt through the city; funny how they listened to her, but not me. Hmmm…. So that’s our 2018. Of course here I focused on the highlights of our year -- the positive ones -- and left out the real day-to-day challenges and toils of life: the idiosyncrasies of life in Italy; the physical toil and demands of caring for a little baby together with the mental/emotional difficulties and responsibilities of older pre-teens; the stresses of accompanying large groups of people in a foreign country and all that entails (this year an 80-year-old woman on one of my groups underwent an emergency appendectomy). I do the same thing on my social media -- I only post photos in which everyone’s smiling. (One day I may upload a photo of our family in the heat of an argument.)
Yet through it all -- the joys and sorrows -- we are confident that Our Father is with us, consoling us, loving us, blessing us, as we make our way -- in the words of Sts. Francis and Clare -- “as pilgrims and strangers in this world” to our Heavenly Homeland. May God bless you this Christmas season and 2019.
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Bret ThomanCatholic. Franciscan. Married. Father. Pilgrim guide. Writer. Translator. Pilot. Aspiring sailor. Archives
April 2024
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