Happy Christmas 2019!

'Tis the season...and get into the spirit one must. Until today we were definitely feeling like party poopers and unable to get into the spirit and look forward to Christmas. BUT this morning we were informed that Isabella's latest MRI shows that her tumor continues to be stable. This means that we will now be moving to 6 monthly check ups. This is AMAZING news, we have reached a new milestone. Not since we began this so-called journey (11 years ago) have we had such a distance between medical check ups. This is HUGE and wonderful news, we are so relieved to receive this update in time for Christmas.

On location in LA

This has been another rollercoaster year for the Impavido family. Mati passed her Maths IGCSE in the summer with flying colors and Isabella passed her driving test and has relieved us from swim practice drop offs and pick ups or nips out in the car when we run out of milk. Wonderful all round. It has also enabled Gregorio and I to have three long week-ends away this year on our own (Rome, LA and Barbados!) while the girls had fun at home with unlimited free access to the Jeep. The bonus for me was that the food shopping was done and meals planned for the week ahead when I got back. What is not to love about teenage girls?!

This autumn term has been intense with both girls in key exam years, Mati working towards her IGCSEs and Isabella her IB. Isabella has also been applying for University. To be honest, an excruciating experience as a parent, when you realise how powerless you are in the decision process and this is their life, they need to figure out which road to take. The path to a medical career for Isabella might not be as straightforward as she had hoped but we are confident she will get there. Stay tuned, we anticipate her studying in the UK or Europe next year but apparently Australia is also on the cards as a possibility.

Views from the Villa

All this paves the way for Gregorio and I becoming empty nesters in the next couple of years. Despite seeing this coming, it hit me like a ton of bricks on a wet November day, that this will be my 20th Christmas, this side of the Atlantic. Hard to believe. Maybe I too am ready for some change or my heart is in Umbria, where we are managing our new house project from afar. Yes, we did purchase the house in May. We had a bumpy start with the previous tenant deciding it was still his house and refusing to move out for the first month or so. The locksmith and carabinieri became our best friends and an alarm system was quickly installed. Thankfully we have moved on and had a great couple of weeks in the summer sorting out the house, fixing, cleaning, buying beds, sussing out local restaurants and gelaterie, buying basic kitchen equipment and even hosting our first party with friends. The work has continued over the autumn, the olives were harvested and we are hoping to visit early next year to sort out painting, furniture buying and and and. I hold out eternal hope of jumping in the new pool next summer. Gregorio is not convinced that building permits and contractors work on my timetable. The building of the pool may well form chapter two of this dream villa tale...let's just hope it's not chapter three, four and more! Suffice to say we hope that many of you will come and visit when you can and it will be a base for many hours of fun and laughter.

Emma in Casablanca

And talking of things Italian, I am one document, a translation and a rubber stamp away from joining them! I began the process the day after the referendum and given the ongoing shenanigans, I might just beat Brexit and remain a European without interruption. Viva l'Italia!

With the nonni in Iceland

Travel has featured heavily in 2019. This summer we had a great trip to Iceland with the nonni. We loved the light, landscape and clean air. Aside from our Italian house adventures, we could dine out on tales about renting cars in Italy too from this summer and Gregorio seemed to become very familiar with the A1 motorway between Milan and Rome. With some medical scares for our parents this was all in all quite an unforgettable summer. I traveled to the UK and France several times in preparation for the 75th anniversary of D-Day and sending several hundred clients to join the commemorations. In September I enjoyed a magical week in Morocco, an opportunity to shop for furnishings for our new house. And I concluded my autumn travels in Switzerland with a breathtaking couple of days in Zermatt and catching up with my brother and family who seem very happy in their new life near Geneva.

The Mighty Matterhorn at sunrise.

On the home front, we began the year with several goals, one of them was to eradicate plastic wrap (cling film/saran wrap) and we have more or less achieved it. We are now ready to take on the next challenge in the war against plastic. I would like to urge all of you to take on one of the National Geographic slogans (and the girls will cringe that I am broadcasting this out to a wider circle) "get the cup out of my ocean" or " get the fork out of my ocean" together "let's bag plastic!"

As always we are grateful to the many friends and family around the world, who apparently continue to check this blog for updates and send words of support. I apologise for not updating on a very regular basis. Perhaps when Isabella turns 18, the tumor continues to be stable and she flies the nest next summer, I shall resort to other forms of updates... #instagramfan.


Whatever your dreams and hopes may be for the coming year, we wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and bright 2020. May our paths cross somewhere in the world very soon.


Lots of Love,
Emma, Gregorio, Isabella & Matilde xxx

Still Stable

No need to read on!

Yep it is all stable and we are pushing the next MRI to the end of August. That will be nearly 5 months since this latest MRI...and that makes it 1.5 years since Isabella stopped treatment. Could the pediatric tumor have finally ceased activity? We certainly hope so. We will keep you posted if there is any change later in the year.

Since our last update we have been busy, of course!

We had a really relaxing trip to Stowe, Vermont at Christmas. Lovely New England village. The snow, sadly did not live up to expectations but most still skied, we enjoyed the scenery complete with covered bridges and Isabella learnt to drive the jeep in the snow. Gregorio bought all the kitchen essentials - the pasta machine and coffee maker, so we were well fed, happy and enjoyed our break. We begun the New Year with a magical and colorful performance of the Magic Flute at the Met in New York on our return.

Favourite pastamaker

Back in DC both girls have been working hard at school. Mati is focused on taking her maths IGCSE this summer and is still an avid swimmer; while Isabella has her head down focused on the end goal of getting into medical school next year. She is enjoying the IB course and still finds a lot of time for extra curricular activities that include tutoring and volunteering at Children's Hospital and the Nursing Home close by. And just before the Easter break, Isabella was selected as Student Body President (aka Head Girl for the English readers).

A Roma!

We are having a relatively quiet easter holiday here and we still haven't made any summer plans. What with all the medical school exams and....our latest project, it is hard to plan....Gregorio and I are trying to buy a house in Umbria. It is a long process but it did mean that Gregorio and I had a fun week-end in Rome earlier in the year. The sign of things to come: a week-end without kids, we left them back in DC having fun without us!

In February, Mati had a week's skiing with the school in West Virginia while Isabella went on a service learning project to Tanzania. It was a memorable journey for her, helping build schools and housing and then enjoying some time on safari.

Spring is here and we are gearing up to the annual Race for Hope. Team Impavido will be out in force  on May 5th, to raise funds and awareness for Brain Cancer and maybe get a personal best! Please join us physically or virtually. We are grateful for your support.

Lots of Love,
Emma, Gregorio, Isabella and Matilde. xxx