A La Famiglia!

October 2, 2010
I always loved the scene in the movie "Moonstruck" when Cher's character's family members raise their glasses at dinner and say "A la famiglia (to the family!)" I have such a small family so that when I do see family members it is quite special. Today, upon arriving in Milan, my first cousin Biancarosa (in red) drove me from Milan to San Colombano. Our first stop was to visit our mutual first cousin Daniela (in pink in the middle of the top photo), who was born in Italy, grew up in South Africa, lived in the US for 20 years, and is now back in Italy to take care of her elderly parents (got that?) Her 95 year-old father, my Uncle Guido, is shown in the photo. Although we only had a brief visit, I was impressed with his spirit, his excellent vision, and his excellent hearing. He spends most of his time in front of the window shown here, but from which he commands a long view of most of the town. Unfortunately his wife, who is a "younger" 91, has dementia, although she is in no pain and they both live in their own apartment with Daniela's considerable help. I also visited Biancarosa's sister and my other cousin Ornella (in blue), who is a former Olympic athlete and is living testament to the power of lifelong exercise. Lastly, the top photo shows a "new" (to me) cousin whom I met today. Her name is Tiziana, and coincidentally, it was her birthday. In typical small town style, she came out of a doorway just as we were passing by on our walk to the cemetery, and needed little persuading to join us. She is my first cousin once removed. Without revealing specifics, these ladies are all in their 60s and they are fit and fabulous! There must be something to the Mediterranean diet!