I close my eyes and try to memorize the moment.

When I woke up to a chill in the Rovinj air, I realized I had to put on jeans for the first time in ten days. I won’t lie; I was a little nervous. Shorts and dresses are more forgiving. But, my jeans kept taunting me from the bottom of my suitcase. Daring me to try them on. To see for myself whether two weeks of ice cream, cheese, chocolate, and red wine indulgences had done permanent damage.

I managed to squeeze them on, but then shuddered when I remembered that I still had another ten days of travel ahead of me. Go ahead. Roll your eyes. I’m serious. I still have flashbacks of rolling myself off the plane in 1998: forty pounds heavier (yes that is 4-0) after 5 months of backpacking in Europe.  What can I say? I prefer to leave my will power at home.

Anyways, where was I? Focus Terri…

I look across the glassy water and watch the light from the rising sun dance across the rainbow of buildings. The clock tower of St Euphemia rises dramatically against the horizon and I see its reflection in the still water below. The calls of seagulls mix with the sounds of revving moped engines as the locals begin another day. I smile as I see a lone fishing boat trolling its way out to sea. The smell of the motor’s gasoline mixes with the salty air, and I feel at home.

I wonder, why do I need to go halfway around the world in order to be present? Why do I need to get up at 7am with my camera and the early morning light in order to appreciate the morning? Why can’t I sit on a bench and be completely inside a moment when I am at home? Why am I always obsessing about the future or re-living some transgression of the past?

I promise myself that I will change. I will practice by continuing to stay in this moment. Right here. Right now.

But just like that, the light changes and the spell is broken. The sun moves on to illuminate another piece of the city and beckons me to follow. I have many more moments to capture before this day is done. I have hill top towns to conquer, twisty roads to traverse, and borders to cross. I vow to stay inside those moments instead of stepping out to realize how fleeting they truly are.

A few of the moments I captured that day