Archive for the ‘family’ Category
i wandered lonely as a cloud
When my mom visited a few years ago, she called me out on the balcony to ask about the group of black and white birds that begin circling, screeching, and swooping around 7:30 p.m. every evening without fail.
I still don’t know what kind of birds they are (neither does P despite knowing about a lot of wildlife), but every time I hear their cries start up I think of my mom and many warm memories of when we bummed around southern Italy with nary a word of Italian between us. We’ve always been close, but during that trip I learned that nothing can bring two people closer than trying to decipher Italian road signs and strange hours of business.
The other night I glanced outside when the screeching reached its highest levels, and I found an amazing sky through my balcony doors.
At first glance, I thought this looked like a bird with wings above its head, flying to the right; then it seemed like it was flying to the left. Now I think it looks like two birds joined in the middle. What do you think?
The sky’s gorgeous coloring only lasted a few minutes, but luckily I snapped a few more photos.
In the last photo, you can see one of the birds quite clearly, but in the middle two, they appear only as grey streaks–they move that quickly. It’s really quite a spectacle, and I’m lucky that I get to see it every evening.
Just goes to show you that sometimes in order to catch a great moment all you need to do is stop, listen, and look up.
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[tags]clouds[/tags]
signed, sealed, delivered: happy father’s day!
I’m reaching back quite a few years here, but remember when Cabbage Patch Kids first came out? To put it mildly, they were hard to find as well as ridiculously expensive for the average consumer (the category in which my family could be placed).
I had never had a doll collection, but oh how I longed for a Cabbage Patch. The dimples, the belly buttons, the signature on the bum?
Come on! How could you resist?
I did eventually get my fair share of these little ones once demand and prices dropped—my official Kids were named Alden Hermann, Dyann Sabrina, and the preemie, Yeti Kira (why, oh why do I remember these names?), but before them, there was Patty.
Yeah, just “Patty” so that should tell you right there that she didn’t have the seal of approval from BabyLand General. Her face shape, red hair, green eyes, and dimples actually made her look pretty close to the real thing (a “real” Patty twin above), but then there was the small matter of her digits. Patty didn’t have individual toes and fingers as my grandmother had just sewn her limbs into kind of pointy tips, but I didn’t care. Mam Mam also made all of Patty’s clothes for a while, so it was kind of an overall look we were going for obviously.
But you know what Patty did have? Adoption papers. Oh yes, just like her Patch brother and sisters, Patty had very official looking documents listing our names, address, the date, her footprints, and even witnesses.
This was all my dad’s idea. He was a Notary Public at the time, so he was used to all the stamping and witnessing. I’m not sure why he would’ve known that real Cabbage Patch Kids had adoption papers, but this was a huge hit with my 7-year-old self.
I remember waiting impatiently for him to peck out the required information on the old typewriter—this was even before my dad got his first Apple—and then as we signed form after form, and finally as he put the official seal on everything.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
And Patty was mine.
I didn’t truly appreciate the effort at the time, but looking back, what a thoughtful, creative, fun, and special thing to do. That little taste of bureaucracy made me feel like a real mommy, a real caretaker, a real person, and most importantly, loved and important.
I can only hope that if/when I’m a parent, I can remember to do those small things too, to every now and again experience life from a child’s viewpoint and figure out what will make him/her feel important and loved; maybe it doesn’t seem so in the moment, but memories are made among the small things.
So, Dad, thank you for the small things as well as the big things, and
Happy Father’s Day to you and all daddies everywhere!*
Ah, and to avoid having a Father’s Day post have only
a photo of a Cabbage Patch doll, cute as she is…
how ‘bout them Blue Devils?
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[tags]cabbage patch kids, father’s day, fathers, dads, corvettes, blue devils, notary publics[/tags]
Love Thursday: Remembering the Silver Years
I don’t have a lot of physical reminders of my childhood. In fact, as my mother recently told me, both cameras were broken at the hospital the day I was born (it wasn’t me, I swear), so I don’t even have one of those adorable minutes-old, crunched up and puffy-faced photos.
But the other day I received a package in the mail from my mom. She’s moving from house to apartment and also moving a friend from apartment to retirement home, so she’s sorting through a lot of old stuff.
And I’m the benefactor.
She thought now would be the perfect time to send me these:
My baby silverware.
My brother got his set when my mom wrapped them up as a gift to my sister-in-law for her first baby shower. Some of you may wonder if my mom’s package was her subtle hint to get moving on the bambini, but really it’s not. She’s never been one of “those” moms so I know that this gift simply means she knew I would love to have these at this exact time in my life, and, as usual, she’s right.
Being far from home, away from nearly everything that ever symbolized anything in my previous life can be difficult; yes, memories are in the heart, but it’s still comforting to hold something that was once important to me, even if I didn’t know it at the time.
Looking at this silverware, I think of how many relatives and family friends have touched these forks and spoons meant for my mouth only–although surely they had to take a bite or two themselves to convince me that pureed carrots were mmm-mmm-good, bless their hearts as it was a decidedly uphill battle.
Also in the collection is a special spoon from the local jeweler’s; when I was born, they were running a special on engraved baby silver, and here’s mine:
It has my name, birth date and time (it’s 12:21 a.m. in case you can’t make it out). Isn’t the stork adorable?
(The ring, by the way, is essentially my engagement/wedding ring from P.)
And that wasn’t the end of the package.
My mom also sent some things from the apartment of the woman now in the retirement home. Kitty has been like a mother to my mom and another grandmother to me, particularly since my mom’s mother was never much of a nurturer, to put it kindly. I always felt a particularly special bond with Kitty because her birthday is just a day before mine (well, and 55 years earlier). Indeed, save twenty-two minutes, we would’ve shared our day.
I have countless wonderful memories of Kitty, but most involve cookies as she and my mom made them together every year for the holidays. Kitty loves to tell the story of one Christmas when I was “The Cookie Monster” who kept sneaking into her dining room and swiping pizzelles and chocolate chip cookies off the table–just from around the edges though because I had to get on my tiptoes to play thief.
And I can still smell the anise as I write this.
I remember trying to find excuses to tramp from one end of her apartment to the other down the long, hardwood floored hallway, which, looking back, probably wasn’t all that grand but sure seemed so to my 4-year-old legs.
There was always something magical about Kitty’s place because it was a like visiting a fairy tale. She had all kinds of grown-up fancy stuff that a little girl could want to be surrounded by–red velvet Victorian furniture, the best china and flatware (which I wouldn’t appreciate until much later), a huge collection of dolls–in fact her apartment rather resembled a doll house.
And Kitty was the doll at just a few inches below five feet tall. Did I mention she only wore pink?
And so, among silver ladles and serving pieces, one particular item sent by my mom stood out:
We think it’s an old-fashioned tea strainer, fitting in nicely with my tea and cookies memories of Kitty, but if anyone has other thoughts, please share.
Now I sit surrounded by a bunch of old silverware, some of it Kitty’s grandmother’s, and I can’t help but remember how my own grandmother used to open up one of the bottom drawers filled with cooking utensils for me to play with. I’d sit on the floor and spend hours going through them, banging and clanging at first, then gradually asking what everything was used for.
I feel like a child again in the middle of all this fun, and I look forward to sharing it with another generation when the time is right.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
** On the sage advice of Goodthomas, I am proud to announce that my short story, Seeds of Truth, has been selected for one of the Author’s Choice Awards in The Moon Topples Fiction Growth Contest. Do yourself a favor and go check out all the entries; they were all superb.
I’d like to thank Maht for the opportunity and for all his hard work to make this contest a success. Now everyone keep your eye on The Moon Topples for the next contest and join in!
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[tags]silver, argento, baby silver, tea strainers, tea, love thursday[/tags]
la festa della mamma
When I was in elementary school, our teachers planned a Mother’s Day Tea for 2 p.m. the Friday before the big day. Having been the teacher’s pet eloquent writer and speaker that I was in my preteen days, I was chosen to compose and deliver the welcoming address.
A huge honor, of course, but my mother was a nurse and worked the 3-11 shift; I knew she wouldn’t be able to make it.
But I wrote and edited and wrote and edited my little speech anyway because, well, other mothers would be there, and they deserved a good show too. Still when it came time to perform, I was nervous as I walked onto the stage, gripping my notecards for dear life.
Click click click said my shoes on the wooden floor–the only noises amidst complete silence.
Everyone was looking at me although I didn’t dare glance at them. I simply got really close to the microphone like they had told me to do, took a deep breath, and said, “Good morning.”
Finally I looked into the audience, and there she was.
My mom, front and center, beaming the smile that always comforted me. I delivered the rest of the welcome without so much as a stutter.
I still don’t really know the details of how she managed it, but I know I appreciated it–so much so that it made it into one of my college essays (and I got in!).
But only now as an adult, another part of the story sticks out to me: my mother doesn’t even drink tea.
Happy Mother’s Day Mom and to all mothers,
including those in Italy, as today is La Festa della Mamma here as well!
You make life amazing!
(You think it’s a coincidence that MOM upside down is WOW?)
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[tags]mother’s day, la festa della mamma, mothers, moms[/tags]
love thursday: big gifts from little ones
Anyone away from most family and friends probably appreciates postal deliveries more than just about anything in life. I’m no different.
I love getting any letter or package, but it’s particularly special when I receive something from my niece and nephew back in the States. Knowing that they still think of me in between soccer and baseball, school and birthday parties, iPods and whatever else it is kids play with these days? Warms my heart and, quite often, makes me downright giddy.
You may remember reading that Mia, my niece, had sent me a postcard from Disney. It arrived!
The other side of the cartolina is a family picture in front of Epcot, but I won’t post it because I haven’t asked permission. You’ll just have to trust me that it’s adorable.
Of course I save everything my niece and nephew have sent me. Here’s a collection of some of the older stuff, drawings when they were both a few years younger:
But it’s not limited to just drawings. They also send me little gifts that they’ve picked up here and there (usually with the help of Nana) that somehow remind me of them.
From left to right: Gangster Bean, a giraffe pin, and a little ceramic owl.
For the record, I’m never doing a photo shoot with a bean, a giraffe, and an owl again. You see how they all refused to look at the camera?
The Gangster Bean came about because before I left to come here, my nephew Michael was big into the Mighty Beanz. A list of all the beans, er, beanz came with the packets, and I told him about my affinity for Gangster Bean (go figure). So when he got his hands on this guy, he sent it off to me.
The giraffe is because I love giraffes, and my niece knows that. So one day while out at yard sales with Nana and Mommy, she saw this and knew I would love it. And I do.
The ceramic owl was gifted during the time of Filippo and Filippa, the wild owls that we raised for a little while. Isn’t it a hoot? Hah!
I display their letters, pictures, drawings, and gifts throughout my house, and everyone always asks about them, their names, how old they are, etc.
And you know is always the most interested? Other children. When P’s nieces and nephews or kids from the village come around, they zero on anything related to Michael and Mia (especially their blond hair!) and ask, above all, when they’re coming to visit.
I can’t wait for the day that they come and can meet all the people who already know so much about them. And somehow I don’t think the language barrier is going to make a bit of difference.
Hearts seem to have a language of their own.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
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[tags]love thursday, giraffes, mighty beanz, gangster bean, owls, children’s drawings[/tags]
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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