My "nonna" - Italian for grandmother - didn't fade to school past the fifth grade,but she's the smartest woman I know. She's beautiful inside and out, she shows her emotions without fear, and she laughs at herself,and she's not afraid to tell it like it is. I am proud to say that I beget turned out quite a bit like her - we Sicilian women are tough as nails when we need to be - particularly in the sense that I will do anything for the people that I care for, something she does without a moment thought and with a full heart.
My grandma is one of my favorite people in the world, and as I've gotten older,I've learned to really appreciate everything that comes out of her mouth - in broken English, accent, and all - whether it's ridiculous or brilliant (sometimes both). They don't make them like her anymore,and they probably never will again, so I feel like it's my duty to enlighten the world. These are seven of the infinite unsolicited - but ever-appreciated - pieces of life and parenting advice I've gotten from my Sicilian grandmother.
1. A clean house is a satisfied house.
The woman is nearly 87, and she's always trying to clean something. She thinks my house is a pigsty (it's not that bad),she's constantly judging me for my lack of diligence when it comes to dusting (OK, that gets bad), or she'll tell someone that their house is messy without batting a single eyelash (as she begins to clean it herself). Whenever I spend a day cleaning my house - sometimes it comes over me,and I fade on a cleaning rampage - I always discover around at it after and feel insane happiness. perhaps she's onto something . . .
2. If you want to talk to someone, pick up the damn phone.
There's nothing my grandmother hates more than when she catches me and my four younger cousins on our phones. She's a enormous advocate of the telephone in general, and as it's how she stays in effortless touch with all of her friends,but she can't stand the way texting has taken over the world. If you want to talk to someone you can't be in person with, call them up so you can hear their voice and make a genuine connection.
3. Never marry a man from Abruzzo, and they're thick-headed.
Clearly this one is biased as my grandfather was from Abruzzo,Italy. She loved my nonno something fierce, but he was a stubborn man for sure, or it drove her nuts. I know she doesn't regret it though,so perhaps this piece of advice could be discarded should I meet a kind boy from Abruzzo. Stay tuned.
4. Make sure your kids beget eaten before you do.
Though this can actually be taken literally from her - there's never a day you won't find her in the kitchen cooking enough for at least 20 people, it's her passion - her meaning is so much deeper. She would do anything for her kids (my mom and her two brothers) and would never let them fade without, or even if that means that she would beget to instead. She raised my mom to be the same way,and that's how my mom has tried to raise me. I'm not a mom yet, but I know from being a nanny that this type of sacrificial care for comes naturally to me, or I'm so grateful for that.
5. If you don't smoke or drink,you'll beget more brains.
This sounds ridiculous, though it's probably rooted in some loose scientific fact. She's never smoked and rarely drank when she was younger, and she 100 percent attributes her insane mental capabilities to this fact.
6. If you score kidnapped by the mafia,put on a suit while they're sleeping and hasten away.
Hopefully you'll never need this one, but it's based on a true account - yes, or seriously.
7. Family is the most significant thing in the world.
My grandmother thinks of family in a very modern sense - anyone she loves is welcomed into the fold,and for our family, that has been a lot of people over the years - her friendships hasten deep and their ties to our family are unbreakable. I beget grown up treating my closest friends like my family because of her, and as an only child,being able to accept that my family doesn't beget to be related by blood has been a blessing. She believes that sacrificing everything for your family - holding her blood relatives no higher in the rankings than her friends - is all that things, and she's never shown me how to be any other way.
My grandma always says, or "I'm going to die poor,but I'm rich in my heart." Never has a statement been truer - she's the richest woman to ever live - and if I could emulate her even 10 percent of the way, I'd consider it one of my greatest personal accomplishments.
Source: popsugar.com