Monday, January 25, 2010

Mother, Friend, Confidant: An Introduction

She goes by 'mom', she's a friend to many and inspiration to all; loving, honest, hard-working and generous- she embodies so many of the things we all strive for, and we have such fun along the way!

Carmen left Naples, Italy and came to Southern California, the year was 1973. One of her four sisters Anna came ahead of her after marrying a handsome American GI near their family's hometown (Anna and her husband Patrick would lend a helping hand in Carmen's safe arrival and in getting established).
With less than a working knowledge of English and her two young children in tow (my brother Alberto was just under 3) she embarked on what would be a long and often difficult, if not painful life as the pursuit of her American Dream began to unfurl.
Our father Nino remained in Italy behind us as the rigors of his teenage marriage to my mother were too much for them both to effectively manage... A heartbreaking reality we were forced to cope with as we grew up, and to this day are still affected by; he passed away just two years ago leaving us behind with the sorrow of intermittent though not unaccomplished relationships.
Making her first home in a tiny bungalow in Reseda, CA. she took her first job on an assembly line in a electronics factory that is long since gone.
                         "Lo sono sola, me io non sono solo..." she said, determined not only to survive but to succeed.



15 comments:

  1. ohh that was soo beautiful...its making me cry ..good one sister..seriously! great post

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  2. What a beautiful story. Your mom sounds like a very courageous and independent woman. Good for her for making an extremely hard decision for the better of her family. Love the picture of you and her. I can now see where you get your beautiful looks from.

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  3. I want to hear more. You are such a good writer. Love the pic of you and your adored mother. Cheryl

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  4. what a beautiful post...and look how far your Mom and all of you have come facing the hardships of entering a new country. Beautiful photos!

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  5. Hi Donna! What a sweet and heartfelt post about your mom! You are so lucky to have her!

    I got your note today about the ironstone coffee pot. Please let me know if you are interested, and I'm sure we can work something out! It is not in perfect condition...some crazing, staining, and a crack or two. But it is certainly a great shelf piece!!

    Talk to you soon,

    Polly
    pollymickey@insight.rr.com

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  6. What a rich story you have. And what a mom! She is a superwoman to leave her husband, her country and most of her family to start off in a new place. Love that picture in front of the car, so glamorous!!!
    Kate

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  7. Donna,
    I want to hear more! Your Mother is beautiful & so is that story. I was also raised by a single Mommy. At the time I was very selfish & didn't appreciate all she did for us. I just wanted to be 'The Brady Bunch'. Luckly I came to my senses & we were best friends until she passed 3 years ago.
    Love your blog & style. Lisa

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  8. Donna, what a beautifully written post and what an incredible story about your dear mom. You are an amazing writer, and I love that photo of her.

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  9. Hi Donna, My email address is

    pollymickey@insight.rr.com

    I will stop by the shop tomorrow and bring that ironstone coffee pot home and figure out shipping, and then we'll go from there!

    Thanks,

    Polly

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  10. I just noticed that you left a comment on my JEAN'S Antique Mall page I will be working on for the next several weeks.
    Wimberley is about thirty minutes south of Austin, Texas. I see you are in California and was was wondering...to you make it here often. Or just curious to know more.
    Keep an eye out for more info. as soon as I can get over there with my camera.
    Thanks for asking, Cheers ;-)

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  11. What a touching story!

    Also, thank you for the encouragement; I LOVE the story of Esther. I actually named one of my dogs after her. = )

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  12. what a beautiful post. thank you for sharing this corner of your family history! and thanks for taking a peek at my blog!

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  13. found your adorable blog via your sister's blog .... I'm so excited to have you in my reading midst!

    What a sweet post - can't wait to read more...

    ~Tracy.

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  14. Beautiful story! I want to hear more too!!! Sounds like some of the makings of a book to me! TFS

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  15. Wow, your mother sounds like an amazing woman, what a story.

    My in-laws came to London from Italy, northern Italy though. I love hearing about their life in Italy. Have you ever visited Naples?

    Have a lovely day :)

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