Good-bye Roberto, Dunja and Sara

For us, Roberto, Dunja and Sara , our downstairs neighbours, are home.

They welcomed us when we arrived here in Rome, almost two years ago. Dunja has been an important reference person for Mathilde during her pregnancy and Leo’s first months. And, above all, Sara has been Leo’s first kiss!

But as we have learnt and have already experienced, life is a revolving door: when someone is moving in, someone else is moving out. And tomorrow, Roberto, Dunja and Sara will leave - destination: Cincinnati.

We knew since we arrived that they were on their ‘way out’, but their transfer kept being postponed and postponed for so long that at the end we got used to the idea they could stay, if not forever, certainly longer.

So, when about one month ago they told us that their transfer had finally arrived, a profound sense of nostalgia pervaded us.

We will be missing bumping into each other on the stairs or on the escalator in the mornings or in the evenings. We will be missing our meetings at the park after work. We will be missing the feeling that we could knock at each other door at any time to have Leo and Sara playing together, or simply to have a chat. And we will be missing our improvised dinners on our respective terraces.

Good-bye Roberto, Dunja and Sara. We will be missing you, but we wish you all the best for your new, exciting experience…