Thursday, August 22, 2024
Most people knew my grandmother as Clara, to my Pop she was La Maestra, master of her craft as a dressmaker, some people called her Chiarina, but so a special group of us, she was Nonna. She was an amazing grandmother to us, and she had the fortune of living long enough to have 6 (almost 7 great-grandchildren). I truly believe in the last few years of her life, those kids are what kept her around. She adored them.
She was from a tough generation, and she was no exception. My Pop came to Canada to establish a life for his family, leaving Nonna in Casamassima for 2 years with my 2.5 year old Aunt Marie, and my 6 month old father. In today's world, that seems unthinkable. She left her sibilings and all of her family behind, as a young mother. She met Pop in Canada through Halifax in 1956, enduring an 8 day sea voyage, most of which she was seasick for; caring for 2 small children for the journey. She came here knowing no English, learning from watching The Bold and The Beautiful, and her kids' Dick and Jane readers from school. Nonna was one of the smartest people I knew, despite only making it as far as 2nd grade when the Nazis invaded southern Italy, turning her school into a hospital.
After being reunited with Pop they vowed never to go to bed without each other and they held true to that. She loved a late-night Lifetime movie, and when we stayed there, we would often times find him snoring next to her on the couch.
One of her greatest talents was cooking, she was incredible. She taught me and my sister many of her greatest hits, which we try our best to carry on, although nothing is quite as good as hers, no matter how closely we follow her instructions. Personally, I inherited her hoarding of recipes and cooking gear. In her younger years, she would begin baking Christmas cookies in November. She would give cookies out to all of the neighbors . Her love language was definitely food. She made holidays extra special with her delicious food and fancy plates and glasses. I would always look forward to the Christmases we spent at their house.
To say she will be missed is an understatement. Losing her is a big void in our family, she was our matriarch. She was kind to her friends, cherished her family and in many ways became the Nonna to her neighbors as well.
To me and my siblings, this feels like a big end to a large part of our childhood. We would always spend a few days each summer in Bayville, our fun aunts taking us out to do something and the memory of coming into the house and being greeted by her and smelling something delicious like chicken cutlets frying or focaccia, that just envelopes us in warmth and love. I would spend a night at their house well into my 20s if I just needed that comfort. Pop bringing me ice cream and waking Nonna up with the chant of: "cafe Signora?" She even got him to wear an apron and help her in the kitchen, mocking Golden Girls that was playing on the TV but secretly loving it.
We can all keep her memory alive through sharing stories, making one of her recipes and using our fancy dishes on Christmas. It's worth the mess to create those memories.
I know she is with Pop now, she was never really the same since he passed.
