Thx Fb.

In June of 1981 I had the pleasure of visiting my family in Sicily.  I spent 3 weeks in Cefalu with my parents and sister.

We stayed at the villa that my grandfather had built.  He had passed away several years earlier.  We were well taken care of by my step grandmother Maria, her daughter Therese and Therese’s family.  At that time Therese was married to Salvatore and they had two amazing children, Danielle and Chiara.

We would walk out the front door of the villa .. cross the street..and lay on the beach as the Mediterranean splashed up upon us.  It was the best tan I ever had.

The winds blew in from Africa ( the sirocco ) ,  Maria prepared wonderful fresh meals (the fish had been caught only hours before we ate it ) and I spent hours and hours with my cousins.  Dani would sit and listen to us ( I think that Chiara and I would talk non-stop) ….I would be talking in English…Chiara and Danielle in Italian.. Sometimes the three of us were completely confused.  But I think mostly we understood each other.  I remember Chiara talking and talking and looking at me as if to say:  “common…you know what I’m talking about”.

Twenty-nine years have passed and in my head I have romantic memories of this special vacation.  We promised ourselves we would go back…but we have not kept that promise.

For so many reasons  ( bad, foolish reasons ) the connection was lost.  I lost contact with my Sicilian family.

I couldn’t sleep…..6 days ago…I kept waking up…. at 2am I could see the email alert light flashing on my blackberry.  “Facebook friend request”  … “Chiara Di Giorgi” … I was surprised and thrilled )) …… and then a message:  “cousin!, turn on the facebook chat” ))  there was no reason to worry about sleep now…I had a good reason to stay awake.  i chatted with my cousin in english for the very first time.  and it felt as if the last time we spoke was only days ago. …..so, now I am grateful that my cousin has found me…the amazing child that I remembered is now a remarkable adult.  Yes, I am upset about the years that I have missed…((why hadn’t i put more effort into finding her))…but I am grateful for the time I have now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And grateful for the technology that allowed my cousin to find me…..grateful for the technology that allows me to see that the smile and the attitude have not changed.

thx fb.