Memories

I chose this theme because this past week, the Turco family got to walk down memory lane. Growing up, my family spent every Sunday morning at my Nana and Nanu's house. I can count on one hand the number of times we didn't go; usually due to weather or illness. Other members of the extended Turco family would come too..some every week, others a couple of times a month. There was always delicious food--Orsi bread, spaghetti sauce and meatballs (for breakfast of course), homemade cookies, cake etc. There was also a lot of laughter and a lot of yelling. It wasn't real yelling, but more "Italian family talking loudly over one another" yelling. My Dad would bring his barber tools a couple of times a month and there would be haircuts. There would also be projects, mowing the grass, fixing up things around the house, etc, etc. We would also spend a lot of time sitting around, listening to my Nanu's stories and just hanging out. It defined my idea of what family is, does and should be to this day. Like most good things, I didn't realize what a gift those Sunday mornings were until they were gone. My Nana and Nanu's house still belongs in the family, but the family who owns it is ready to sell the house.

Last week, we had an impromptu gathering at the house, for probably the last time ever. There was delicious food (Thanks Aaron and Tracy) and lots of laughter, and some "yelling" and a lot of memories shared. I'm sure my Nana and Nanu were really happy to see their family gathered in their home one more time. My Aunt Mary was in town, so all of their living children were there once: Mary, my Uncle Tony and my Dad. My Uncle Louie passed away too long ago, but his kids and grand kids were there too. It was also fun to show off the house to Lucy and Sophie who had never been there and we took lots and lots of pictures.

The house has been modernized so there are a lot of changes, but the screen door to their porch is the same screen door that was around back when we were kids. We were all in and out of the house a lot that day and I couldn't believe that every time I grabbed the handle to open the door, it felt so familiar and memories would rush back of the 25 years worth of Sundays I spent there. It was comforting and bittersweet at the same time. And amazing that just one little thing, a screen door handle could do that. So out of all the photos we took that day, this picture, which is pretty ordinary to most, will always bring back memories and remind me of the blessings of family I had and still have to this day! Thank you God for the gift of my familia!   -Dina

 

About a mile from my house is Shoal Creek Cemetery, which was established when the area was first settled in the mid-1800s. There are many gravestones from then until the 1920s. Obviously I don't have any memories of these people, nor does anyone else still alive. However, whenever I visit a cemetery, I always wonder what the stories are of the people who are buried there. For a long time, survivors came here to remember their loved ones.

I also love the imagery of this particular photo, with the tombstone in the foreground, the dead tree not far behind it, and a living tree in the background, perhaps providing a glimpse of what the bare, stripped trunk once looked like. All in front of a setting sun. Not a bad metaphor for a cemetery.  -Cort

Next Week's Theme: Change