What a way to spend a weekend in bed

With mi amore AL Pacino...

In a way this post is a tribute to my mother and all things Italian. While I was sick and spending the weekend in bed last weekend I managed to catch 'The Godfather' on TV. It was 'regular' TV so there was obviously a lot cut out of the movie but that's OK I've seen Parts I & II before...

There's a feeling that comes over me when I watch these films - first of all it always pleasantly surprises me that I can still understand when they speak in Italian - I don't always know everything they are saying but I can generally figure it out. Secondly, it brings back memories of being Italian and growing up in Pittsburgh. NOT the part about being in a family where organised crime is the way they make their livelihood - but the 'familia' part of it all - the closeness, the love, the cooking, the wine, the loyalty, the feeling that 'you belong' to a group that will always love you and watch out for you no matter what.

It was a bit of a double-edged sword living in my family with the Italian on my mother's side and the Irish on my father's - they seemed to come from different worlds - the love was strong on both sides though. But mom's side was a bit more serious about tradition, and 'doing the proper things' and staying loyal to the family. It's a strong sense of family it's not something taken lightly and it was all tied up with food and family gatherings and religious devotion and sometimes a bit of mystery.

I am glad I got to be a part of that group. I feel I did not pass enough of it down to my own children but then after mom died, those very same people disappeared from my life because we had moved to Ohio by then. I still keep the traditions (mainly the recipes) up in my head - just in case but my daughter does not seem interested in knowing how to make a good sauce, homemade pasta, ravioli or lasagne - perhaps someday she will...I hope both of my children know though that like my own mother, I will love them fiercely and and be loyal to them always.