"Mom, guess what? Just caught a wild boar..."

Now, let's say that you're the mom of a 20-year-old who is studying in Rome for spring semester and is taking weekend trips to Dublin, Amsterdam, Krakow, Greece and a week's trip to Tunisia. Let's further say that this weekend she tells you she is going to a cute farm in a small town two hours outside of Rome where she can have her own room (something she hasn't had in ages) and will be hiking and horseback riding. I investigate online and any concerns I had are put to rest. http://www.italyfarmstay.com/index.html This, from a mom's perspective, is pretty much a slam dunk, worry-free jaunt, except, of course, for the Saturday a.m. phone call which proves to be a momentary snag in the bliss. She was stranded at a train station alone in a small Italian town whose name she didn't know. Apparently her connecting train hadn't shown up. But that's another story. Fast forward to Sunday morning when this text arrives: "Mom, guess what? I just
hiked barefoot through a waterfall and caught a wild boar!" Hmmmmmmm. I text back, "With what, your hands?" and the reply is, "No, the guy did, but we circled it." The first picture that flies through my head is my barefooted daughter going nose to nose with a boar. The next thought is, what guy? After calming down, however, and remembering "the guy" is the bed and breakfast guy, I find myself so excited that she can experience this and have such an unforgettable moment. And I'm so glad she decided to forge forward after getting stranded in the small town, proceeding to get on the wrong train, having to go back to that small town to get the right train, and finally making it to this wonderful bed and breakfast near Sora where she successfully connected with her friend from school. It was worth the newly sprouted gray hairs I now sport because I believe it's true that the challenges and setbacks we conquer bring us wisdom and strength that will serve us well throughout life. On to the next adventure....

(Sources of images:
http://www.italyfarmstay.com/gallery/gallery.html and http://www.swla.co.uk/SWLAmembers/meadh/Mead_wild_boar.JPG)