They say there’s no place like home, but when you’ve just returned from your happy place in Italy, the comforts of home in Virginia don’t always stack up. And when I broke my foot while unpacking only hours after landing—stepping on a stray shoe and rolling my ankle with an audible crack—the familiar surroundings feel both comforting and frustrating. Not the most exciting story for my first broken bone! It’s a freak accident that now has me grounded here, daydreaming about Lucca.
My family has practically earned frequent-flyer miles at our local orthopedist, thanks to my three sons, two of whom are avid skateboarders. The staff even recognized me as I hobbled in! No cobblestone or bike mishap to blame—just a very domestic accident that’s left me with with weeks of recovery.
Multiple Floors, Multiple Challenges
One thing I didn’t realize I’d miss so much about Lucca was having everything close at hand. Yes, our apartment has 21 steps in the loggia up to the door, but once inside, it’s all on one level—so manageable. In our Virginia home, though, the floors multiply the challenges. Getting to the kitchen, bedrooms, and laundry feels like a real trek, making me truly appreciate the simplicity of Lucca’s layout.
I Wonder How I Would Handle This in Lucca
A part of me wonders how I’d fare with an injury like this in Lucca. In spite of not having a car there, our independence is so liberating, biking or walking to the market or to the train station for further destinations. The idea of hauling myself up the apartment's loggia steps on crutches or maneuvering a knee scooter along the uneven streets and sidewalks makes me grateful to be here in Virginia. Grocery shopping in Lucca each day would suddenly be a daunting task!
Although I’ve never had to visit a doctor in Italy, I could imagine a whole new level of patience-testing. A friend in Italy has been navigating a long stretch of uncertainty as her husband has been in the hospital for weeks, caught in a system where time seems to stretch endlessly. In Italy, things move at a slower, sometimes exasperating pace, and healthcare is no exception. Doctors make their rounds methodically, and updates can feel few and far between, leaving them to wait patiently as the process unfolds slowly.
Personal Growth?
One of the things we love most about Lucca is its slower, more intentional pace—a rhythm I've written about here. It’s the kind of unhurried lifestyle that stands in stark contrast to our days back in Virginia, where life seems to speed up despite our best efforts to balance it out. The grind of the DC metro area seems to run on its own brand of urgency, a pace that insists every moment be maximized and accounted for. There’s a constant pull toward doing more, being more, achieving more—an energy that can be invigorating but is also hard to step back from.
In Lucca, though, the world feels like it moves at a human pace. There’s something about strolling through the historic streets, logging 20k+ steps without even noticing, that feels worlds apart from the reminders on my Apple Watch now, cheerfully suggesting that I “still have time to make my goals” from the confines of recovery.
Injury brings its own kind of humility, doesn’t it? It’s teaching me the art of asking for and accepting help, an area of personal growth I hadn’t planned on tackling. But, here we are. As a founder of a breast cancer organization that provides practical and critical support to local patients, I know firsthand that women often struggle with asking for and accepting support, even when we need it most.
While this wasn’t exactly the homecoming I envisioned, the silver lining is that it’s given me a new perspective on life’s pace, even if it’s from the couch for now. Maybe in some way, this experience echoes the “Vicariously in Virginia” theme I’ve explored on this blog—finding ways to bring a little of that Italian mindset into our lives back home, even if it’s not always easy to replicate.
I’m grateful this didn’t happen before we left for Lucca, which likely would have derailed our plans entirely. For now, I’m simply dreaming of that first pain-free step back onto Lucca’s charming streets, ready to embrace that slower rhythm once more.
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