This weekend, my Uncle Frank flew into town from California. It has been many years since he has visited this area, and many years since the Italian side of my family, my mom’s side, has had a full family reunion type thing. So we are doing it up big. Three seperate gatherings with family and friends. Friday night we all gathered at my cousins house for pizza , salad, apps, and desserts. We caught up, listened to music, and had a great time. Then yesterday, it was back to my cousins house again for a full daytime outdoor event, sitting on the patio with more delicious food, this time lots of homemade italian dishes, and seafood. Today we are having a cookout at my other cousins house. My parents are in town for the weekend, my brother and the kids have come out for this, (which is rare because he is so busy), and seeing my Uncle for the first time in a long time has just been really great.

In these gatherings, especially yesterday, lots of memories were shared involving people we love who we have lost over the years to death. Some stories about my husband Don, some about another close family friend, and a lot of stories about my Nana, who died about 15 years ago now, at age 86, from cancer. She was the absolute best, the life of the party, the glue that held our family together, and nothing was more important to her than being with family. Her many italian recipes have been missed almost as much as she herself, over the years. My cousin Tabatha made sauce with meatballs yesterday, and they tasted so much like Nana’s, and when I told her that, she teared up and said “that is the best compliment you could ever give me.” And then the couple that lived right above my Nana and my mom, aunt, and uncle when they were kids growing up, was at the party yesterday, and they shared so many incredibly loving and funny stories about Nana that we didnt know about. How she shared her food with them and cooked for them often. How she had no choice but to raise their rent one year , by $10!!!, and she was crying at the thought of having to do it. How he could smell it through the heat vents everytime she made homemade pizzas, and she would always invite them down to share some.

Sharing stories and memories about those we love who have died, in combination with living our current day to day lives and sharing time together with those we love, is such a powerful thing. Im excited for our last gathering today, to create more memories, and have more laughter, because who knows when we will get this kind of chance again.

And, as always, with events like this, I soooo wish that Don could be here and be part of it all.

And then, of course, I then realize that, he IS here, and he IS a part of it all, everytime we talk about him and share his life and memory forward.

Those are my favorite kind of moments to live inside of.