5.20am The alarm clock rings for me and nona.I have to drive her to the airport.Her flight will start boarding at 6.55 and the airport is only 15 minutes away but we want to be there early in case there will be chaos due to all the flights cancelled yesterday because of Ophelia.Nona is not a ready to go person,she needs time.Nona is not a morning person either:you better don’t speak to her until she had her coffee and time to settle in the new day that is waiting ahead of her.It is always entertaining to see her reaction when her housekeeper comes in,in the morning , greeting her loudly.In fearness,this lady should know better after over twenty years in the house but is a very cheerful person, can’t help herself and, probably, this is one of the reasons we all love her .My mother is usually at the kitchen table finishing her coffee in absolute silence when M comes in ,put her own coffee on and starts chatting away about the latest gossips in the village.She drinks her coffee and then starts her rounds in the house totally oblivious of my mother homicidal frown that is actually real competition to Jack torrance’s one.I am ready first.I go down to make a nespresso each.Everywhere i look there are post it reminding me to get the cheese from the fridge.I always send home red cheddar to my stepfather but so many times in the rush we forget to take it that now i developed this technique of sticking reminder notes in the most strategic position of the house:basically everywhere i have to look at before leaving.It is a bit idiotic but it works.Despite what we thought the airport is very quiet and there’s no queue at all.Of course nona always suggests to get a taxi or the bus because it is very early in the morning and of course she always suggests to leave her at the entrance without parking and walking her in.Of course i never do it .She wouldn’t do it with me i wouldn’t do it with her:that drive to the airport extends the time we have to spend together .She is a big pain in the neck,she drives me crazy but she is an extraordinary woman (you just need to be careful on the dose you take her),with a huge heart.Only proof you need is that she looks after not one but 2 mothers in law .I barely speak with one and promised myself that on my next life i will only say yes to a orphan.After nearly a week under the same roof I feel it is time to go home for nona and,she probably feels the same.No matter what,anyway,it is always sad to watch her leaving and everytime I go back from the airport i can’t not to question myself about my choice to live abroad :am i selfish?will i regret it?am I depriving my daughters of a closer relationship with their grandparent?To all these questions there is no answer.I am unquestionably happy here and nona is still very young and very good to come and visit often but,still,every time she leaves Ireland or I leave Italy,the rest of the day is spoiled with a veil of melancholy.

7.45am The travelling husband just left for work.The girls are still in bed as schools are closed today too.I have few shirts to iron and I decide to do it straight away watching early morning trash tv,in the specific a reality tv program about cheaters.Basically a guide about everything you better never do if having an affair so to avoid to be caught.

9.00am Girls are up and fed.The cleaning starts:bottom to top,this is my order.

12.15pm We are ready to go to the dentist.Second filling to be done.The girls obviously have to come with me but they are well prepared for the waiting:cards to play with,packed lunch,drinks and a book.When I am done ,quite quickly this time ,I am delighted to hear the receptionist complimenting me for my well behaving daughters and i think:”if you only would know how much shouting it took me to get to this”. Definitely this second visit to the dentist was less traumatic than the first one.Well, not that i didn’t try to postpone it and the fact that the school was closed and i had to drag the girls with me seemed like a perfect excuse.Surprisingly the travelling husband and my mother coalesced against me on this one:unbelievable!!!They do that, sometimes, on very specific habits of mine like eat half of a chocolate or a biscuit and wrapp them back to only eat the other half later.They can be very vicious together…..thankfully most of the time they prefer to be viscous one against the other!Anyway,I walked in very confident and already at easy with the german dentist.The nurse is different this time but she seems nice so I am ok.I decided to wear my glasses instead of the contacts today.I will be in fact asked to take them off and I find easy to relax and not to think at what is gonna happen to me if i don’t really see it .He starts and immediately says that this tooth is not that bad as the previous one and it will be much quicker.The anesthetic already kicked in so i can’t properly smile of gratitude but it is all in my eyes ,he can see it.He drills and fills away and updates my chart on the computer.In the meanwhile the nurse is supposed to hold inside my mouth the tube to suck my saliva:I am still wide mouth open and drooling.Behind the patient chair there is a lovely big window and outside that window there must be something particularly intriguing .Unfortunately both me and the dentist give our back to the window but the nurse who is standing beside me has a clear view.I am dying to know what there is out there because she can’t take her eyes off it.Many ideas cross my mind:her boyfriend waiting for her;some coca cola guy like mowing the lawn in the house just across the road;Colin Firth…naa she is too young for him.It must be some young actor like…..shoot i realised I don’t know the name of any young actors most popular at the moment!Am i that old?No,straight sincere answer!Anyway ,never mind who or what is out there ,whatever it is,it is distracting my nurse.That,itself, wouldn’t bother me at all if not for the fact that she is not paying attention at the sucking tube she is holding that moved and soon,instead of succking my saliva,it starts sucking my tongue .I am petrified ,nobody in the room realizes what is going on,except me of course.The dentist is still inserting data in the computer with his back at me and the nurse is still looking out the window totally absorbed.I don’t want to be rude so I wait to see if she turns but she doesn’t and now it is really hurting and the saliva is choking me:what do i do?I raised my hand like a zombie in a horror movie and grab her arm.She screams.I scream,well kind of becuase i can’t really make clear sound in the numbness.The dentist turns around and for a second can’t really understand what is happening.They both look at me puzzled and I indicate the tube in my mouth.The nurse is mortified and keep looking at me and looking at the dentist and apologising to both.The poor thing, i feel sorry for her so i tell her it is ok ;these things happen and probably my husband would thank her to suck my tongue up…..a bit of quiet time in the house he could have.

1.30pm We are back home ,I can’t drink and I can’t eat for at least three hours and,of course ,I am starving and dying for a coffee.I still have things to do in the house to keep myself busy outside the kitchen.

5.00pm I am still in the study writing .I look at my watch and see eventually I can make myself a coffee and a snack.The anesthetic effect is completely gone.I am not the slightiest numb anymore.I got up and start wandering around the kitchen thinking at something to eat with a nice coffee.It is also the dogs dinner time and they are very good on remind me of it so it is the tree of us going around the kitchen drooling for food.I know the image is gross but pretty much close to reality.

7.20pm The girls just had dinner and changed in their pjs as,hopefully ,tomorrow they will go back to school.The travelling husband just rang to say he is on his way home.I am exhausted .I stuck our dinner in the oven and crashed on the kitchen couch with a glass of wine watching the news:one dog on my lap and the other just beside me.I feel a bit guilty I didn’t bring them for a proper walk today but they don’t seem cross with me.The little one managed to turn on her back so I can scratch her belly and the gigantic dogs is loosing himself in contempt with me twisting his ears around my fingers.

8.00pm The travelling husband just got home .I can feel from his tone he doesn’t have a great mood.He says he is just tired but I say he is more of an old cranky pants tonight.Thing is:he is leaving on Thursday for a hunting trip and won’t be back until Monday;then,he will leave again for business on Wednesday until Saturday and, i have some diy to be done before his departure.I am normally the diy guy in the house but not for those jobs requiring the use of the drill.I am too affectionate to my walls and fingers in the shape and numbers they currently are.Dilemma dilemma:how do I approach him to ask to fit the new coats hunger in the hall?Answer answer:he will see it himself when going to hang his coat and find nothing to hang it on.I,in fact, got rid of the old one this morning during my after nona cleaning spree.I say nothing and keep grating the carrots for the salad;he says nothing but go in the shed to get his tool box.The empty wall and new hanger leaning on it ,spoke more than thousand words.

9.30pm We had dinner.I am delighted with my new hanger coats.He got his mood back thanks to the after diy fatigue G&T infused with love I made him and served with pretzels.We can crash together on the couch watching some tv and drinking a nice hot relaxing apple and cinnamon tea.