After my Dad passed away a couple of years ago I was exhausted and completely drained. The whole thing made me really miss my cousin Annie, who is more like a sister to me. We were very close growing up but as adults we’ve mostly lived long distances from each other and so we don’t get to see each other very often. It was sad not having Annie at Dad’s funeral and I felt a really strong need to see her. After a lot of soul searching I made the decision to throw caution to the wind and head to the north of Italy to spend a couple of weeks with her. Honestly, this was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, it was so rejuvenating and in her presence I was really able to grieve and reminisce with lots of tears and also laughter. I feel very blessed to have Annie in my life, a pity we don’t get to see each other more often.