By Barrie Davenport

At this very moment, I should be on a plane to Italy.

My friend Katie Tallo (of Momentum Gathering) and I have planned this trip for six months. We were going to stay first at our friend Diana Baur’s amazing bed and breakfast in Acqui Terme in Northern Italy. Then we were going to spend a few days on Lake Como near the border of Italy and Switzerland.

Needless to say, we were beyond excited. Both of us had our luggage packed, flights booked, car rented, accommodations arranged. Loose ends had been tied up at home and at work, someone was scheduled to pick up the mail, and my ride to the airport was set.

Then the unexpected happened.

Yesterday morning, the day before we are supposed to fly away, my teenage son became quite ill. (Nothing life-threatening,... More...