This last week was full of reflection and celebration, amidst an intense heatwave. The kids wrapped up their lessons on habitats, and we received glowing progress reports. Guille demonstrated his volcano experiment, and we watched the kids sing cute songs about nature and making friends in 4 different languages, against a backdrop of a classroom video. Then we walked around the classroom one last time, taking in all the Montessori activities that filled their lives these past 3 months. While it’s unclear whether or not they’ve “achieved academic excellence,” it is crystal clear that these kids have developed a love for learning at a very young age, and we are extremely grateful to and impressed by the Boundless teachers in Pistoia.

In the last couple weeks of our time here, Guillermo and Melissa joined our cohort’s Padel group, and have really enjoyed finding a sport we love playing together. It’s more intense than Pickleball, and a legitimate racket sport, but still relatively easy to pick up. We discovered Portland just opened a Padel campus 2 weeks ago, and are busy working on our recruitment strategy for local friends!

We also found more time to connect with our cohort parents – maybe it’s because the adventure is coming to an end, but there seemed to be more opportunity for connection and vulnerability. Making friends at our age is always a challenge, and the forced adult friendships based on our kids being friends is uncomfortable, but something about this built-in community based around our children allowed us to engage more with the “summer camp”-like friendships that grew. Melissa spent more time with the Moms group who discussed everything from educational philosophies and the evolution of our own identities, to the upcoming Taylor Swift nuptials. Guillermo led the Dads group in setting up Poker nights, where he learned that he might not be bad at poker, and is likely just used to playing with good players.

Balancing work, parenting, and what was essentially retired life (e.g. 10:30am Tuesday wine tastings and 2hr lunches) was not easy, but we learned we can shift our priorities to better serve the life we want to live. These 3 months were joyously life affirming – validating our goal to live abroad, confirming that our children are equipped to learn and grow though big changes, and knowing that there are others out there looking to build stability with momentum.

Arrivederci Pistoia! Grazie mille. To bookend our European Spring/Summer, we’re off to London for a week with Melissa’s parents before heading home, and onto new adventures – Guille will be going to Spanish immersion school in the fall. And hasta pronto Boundless – we’ve signed up for the March 2027 cohort in La Barra, Uruguay!