Memorial day is quickly approaching.  I’m sure many of you have your grocery list prepared for the picnic in the park. Maybe you are getting the boat ready for the weekend at the lake. Maybe it’s early bird shopping for the latest white sale.  But maybe, just maybe, it’s a weekend of reflection for you.  It’s a weekend to remember why we can have picnic and go boating without worry.  It’s a weekend where you remember your fallen family members or those who lost their life for our freedom. My grandfather was a merchant marine in WWII. He was a short little Sicilian butcher, and SO proud of his job.  He was one of the most patriotic men I have ever known.  This weekend stirs many emotions for me. Obviously I remember my Nonno and his recollections of his service to this country.  On a more personal note, I remember standing on a dock waving goodbye with the cries and screams of the other navy wives in the background,  watching their men leave for a tour, not knowing if they would return. I want my kids to know what freedom is, and what it means and how we got it in the first place.  So this weekend, when you grill up your burgers, say a little prayer for those men and women still fighting in the never ending war, pray for their safety, their courage, their families they have left behind, and thank them for the safety in which you sit down with your family for a happy picnic in the park. 

Keepin’ it Original,

Gina

When I started thinking about traditions, lots of memories came to mind.  One of the most vivid memories I have is when my mom and I made a pact to celebrate Mothers Day together with dinner and a movie.  My mom raised me, just her and I, and I remember our times being so focused and special.  As a single mom, she had to work, but as soon as she picked me up from school, she was all mine.  We would race home, make a humungous bowl of Mac and cheese and peas, and watch Golden Girls.  I would tell her about my day, she would ask me what we wanted to do the next weekend. It was her and I, figuring out this whole thing called “life”.  She was so devoted and self-sacrificing.  As I grew up, she even wore MY hand-me-downs.  How’s that for generous. But it was the traditions that we created together that made my youth so wonderful.  Every Christmas we would don our aprons and bake spritz cookies.  She let me be in charge of which cookie press shape we would use and what color we would make the batter.  She didn’t shy away from red Christmas trees and green dogs.  Ha ha   I could always predict the series of events, they were traditions too.  After a morning of baking, we would venture to Nonno and Nonna’s house for the afternoon, food and gifts were sure to follow, but it was being with my family, playing Bingo that was my favorite thing to do.  After dinner, Nonno would nap in his favorite chair, the rest of us would clean the table and kitchen, getting ready for dessert, the guys would check out whatever was on TV, then about 2 hours after dinner, we would all belly up to the table for dessert and a penny game of Bingo, I loved being the caller.  For a long time we played with a really cheap plastic set that was hard to turn the numbers out, but one year I sprang for the deluxe set, complete with a huge metal spinning ball and wooden number pieces.   Pretty fancy!
The crazy thing about traditions and keeping them going is that they become second nature, they become a way of life, if they don’t happen in a certain way, things just don’t feel right. I recently returned home after a brief hiatus in another state, and spending the Holidays with my family again was so healing.  I never want to forget the wonderful way they made my youth so memorable.  Please let us know if you have any traditions in your family, I can’t wait to hear from you!  Keepin’ it Original!   Gina