The Family We Found at Seven Hill

We came to Seven Hills as twelve,

with different roads behind us,

different stories in our hearts,

and names most of us had never heard before.

A mother came carrying both love and loss,

missing the husband who should have been beside her,

and with her came their two daughters and a son—

three children missing their father,

four hearts carrying the same beloved man

in their own tender ways.

They reminded us, without needing to say it,

that love does not end with goodbye,

and that those we have loved deeply

still travel with us.

Another couple came looking toward April—

toward vows still waiting to be spoken,

a marriage soon to begin.

And traveling beside them,

Dad and an “almost Mom,”

already discovering that sometimes

family begins before the wedding does.

Two couples arrived as the best of friends,

comfortable in years of shared memories,

yet strangers to eight others

whose stories they had never heard.

And so we gathered.

Twelve people.

Some family.

Some friends.

Most strangers.

But then came the table.

The meals that lasted longer than expected.

The laughter that grew easier each day.

The stories that began with,

“Have I ever told you…?”

and somehow opened a door

into another person’s life.

We spoke of the people we love,

the places we have been,

the joys that shaped us,

and the losses that changed us.

We laughed.

We listened.

We remembered.

And yes, perhaps we shed a tear or two.

Somewhere between morning coffee

and evening conversations,

between adventures and quiet moments,

something beautiful happened:

we stopped being strangers.

And at the heart of Seven Hills was Paola.

She welcomed us not simply into a villa,

but into a place that felt like home.

Through her kindness, generosity, and care,

she became a blessing to each of us—

in ways she may never completely know,

and in ways we will remember long after we leave.

Paola gave us more than a beautiful place to stay.

She gave twelve people

a place to find one another.

And Seven Hills became more than a villa.

For one unforgettable week,

it became our home.

Soon we will pack our bags

and travel again in different directions.

April will bring a wedding.

Life will bring new joys,

new sorrows,

new chapters,

and stories we have not yet lived.

But we will carry something from this place

that cannot be packed in a suitcase.

We will carry one another.

Because twelve people came to Seven Hills

not knowing quite who they would meet.

And we leave knowing something

none of us could have planned:

Sometimes family is given to us by birth.

Sometimes by marriage.

Sometimes through years of friendship.

And every once in a while,

God brings twelve people beneath one roof,

gives them seven days,

a table filled with stories,

laughter enough to fill the rooms,

a few tears shared without embarrassment,

and a gracious woman named Paola

who opens not only her home,

but her heart.

And somehow,

almost without noticing when it happened,

twelve strangers became twelve friends.

And twelve friends

became something that felt very much

like family.

We came to Seven Hills as guests.

We leave as family.

And wherever the road takes us from here,

a little piece of each of us

will always remain together—

here at Seven Hills.

We love you all, including Liz who curated this amazing culinary & wine Adventure for all of us to forge new lifetime friendships with!