Another beautiful breath!

Oh Danda!!!! Thanks sooooo much for taking the time to share with all of us "blog fans" notwithstanding the overwhelming day!!! Wow, you always write beautifully and this time, again, you managed to bring a world of wisdom, days of courage and trust, tears of joy and gratitude, seas of emotions into several paragraphs! I guess we´ve all been hanging around all day anxious for the news, and it was hard to to check and recheck the blog and not see your long, blue entry! So I checked once more before calling it a night and there you were!!! I´m sure you´ve been so busy with calls from friends and family so thanks for remembering us bloggers who do not want to intrude on your intimacy with loved ones. And, now that I can let go of holding my breath and breathe normally, smiling hugely, I simply say the only words left in me after this long wait: Bravissima! Bellissima! Fortissima! I leave you with words my father wrote to me for my 17th birthday...I hope you don´t mind them being in Italian: 

"La traiettoria di qualsiasi vita umana è ricca di vittorie e di sconfitte. Le prime bisogna assimilarle e vivere per migliorarci e progredire senza esaltazioni e superbia; le seconde, cioè le sconfitte, bisogna superarle, facendo appello a tutte le nostre forze spirituali e fisiche per impedire che lo scoramento, il senso di vergogna o di colpa, il desiderio di fuggire o nascondersi s´impossessino di noi..." You have succeeded at just that, and we are all SOOOO PROUD OF YOU!! Take a deep breath and good rest before you continue on your marathon. By now, we all feel it is also our marathon. With so much love, Sally, Gin and Linda (and Gin Papà, of course:) )