Old Time Family Togetherness

Last week was tough. It was tough because it was full on family time.
Last week, as a family, we had to confront some tough issues with my Grandfather's recent Alzheimer's diagnosis. I'd be lying if I said it went well.
That side of the family (mom's) is not so good at the communicating and caring and sharing aspect of togetherness.

For the first time I found myself truly frustrated with how the family unit works on that side.
Dr. Phil, we need you!

Luckily, we were able to escape briefly.....since my Dad was in town, my sister and I asked him to take us on a tour of "New Village".....the little borough in NJ he grew up in.
I thought it would be a great way to step away from the tension that was ever present in the house with my Mom's family.

Dad, Sis and I set out on our tour.....we joked that the tour would probably end in 5 minutes...because there is not much to see......but happily, it turned out to be a great day.
Dad showed us the house our Great Grandparents lived in with him, his brother, sister and parents. We saw the little duplexes where family and friends lived in close proximity, the bar that my grandparents owned, heard about the attempt to flood the basketball court one year in order to ice skate, saw the creek they would 'ride the rapids' in, the rock where they spit out licorice to kill caterpillars....it was awesome!
As we were leaving to drive to Alpha, home of my Nonnie's parents - we decided to stop in and visit my Uncle Nelson. He still lives in the same house my great grandparents lived in. At one time the tiny house had 10 people living in it!
It puts in perspective the agony I thought I was experiencing being in my own grandparents home with no air conditioning and only one bathroom.


I had not been in the house since I was a little girl. Most likely around the time that Nonnie Alpha died.....( i asked my Dad why we called her Nonnie Alpha......he said, duh, because she lived in Alpha)
I got chills when I walked in and saw the photo on the wall. Just how I remembered it! But I also remembered the photo above used to hang in the house too. I don't think I was delusional - Maybe someone can confirm if Nunu and Nonnie Tanfani's photo used to hang in the house too...?
Anyway.......it was so nice to spend the afternoon visiting and talking about family. Talking about how hard life was for these people that came from Italy and left so much behind.
Hearing my uncle remember his mother's voice and accent.....She arrived when she was 3 years old and spent her formative years in Mississippi.....he described her italian/english/southern drawl as something truly unique!

He teared up as he recalled my own Grandmother (his sister) and the sacrifices she made for her family.

Our visit left me feeling refreshed, revived and happy. I suppose I needed some of these ghosts to remind me of what family is.

Family can be demanding, challenging, make you want to scream......but in the end, always there for you.