How can we put into words all our feelings about our beautiful Nunni?
We decided to share a few snapshots of what we loved about her, and will keep as cherished memories for the rest of our lives.
My earliest memory was the cheek-smooshing hugs and lots of quick, squeaky kisses all over my head.
Lois' was when her and Nunni went shopping and came home pretending to Nonno that she had picked up a random kid ... saying "look Sammy, I found this little girl at the mall!"
We loved when she would sing along to any song we made her listen to, and get every lyric wrong...but sang like she knew it anyway (when she tried to clap along to Jamiroquai's "Little L" in the car in France, and missed every clap)
After speaking with family, we realised that everyone loved when she took out the old Moulinex blender and made our orange juice frothy, to put in champagne flutes at breakfast - for no reason, other than to make us feel fancy.
She was always so easily suckered in by the little trinkets on sale in a store, and then she would try to give them away to everyone when she realised she didn't need them.
We were laughing at the memory of Nunni reminding everyone how great Lois' husband Ross was for helping clean up a pot of dropped pasta sauce, ignoring everyone else who helped!
Being 83 years old and still the best dressed person at a barbecue, with a crisp white blouse tucked into high waist, wide leg jeans and sparkly sandals (she loved a bit of sparkle)
When we were over in the summer she would always call us all by the various name combinations -
"Sar...LoAimee!"
"Aim...LoSarah!"
"Sar...AimLois!"
We learned that you didn't want to be the one sitting next to her at the movie theatre. If she didn't like the movie, she would make sure she told you. If she had questions, she would ask them - LOUDLY.
She told us she was a nurse so we would let her clean up our bleeding knees after a bad fall as little kids - she was never a nurse, and we only realised this a couple of years ago.
She was definitely known for making sure everyone who visited her home was going to eat something while they were there.
If you were full up from the dinner she just gave you, she would still say,
"Have some extra, I don't want to have to put it in tupperware!"
She used to take Lois to Tim’s for donuts after Mass on a Sunday, and say “don't tell your father!”
This wasn't the only time she sneaked us food...I recently got to remind her of the time she made me a peanut butter and banana sandwich and when we heard Dad come in, said "Quick! Run upstairs and eat it in the washroom so your father doesn't see!"
We always tried to get exact recipes out of her, and Nunni would always say “a bit of this, a bit of that, and cook it for 30 mins... you don’t need a recipe!”
Not agreeing on the ratio of vinegar to oil when I made a salad dressing
"I added more oil when you weren't looking", she would laugh
- (You were right, Nunni!)
Not agreeing on the best way to cook pierogies
- (You were right, Nunni!)
Telling me I would never be any good working in the fast food industry
(You were right Nunni, luckily!)
For the longest time, she commented "I like this" on people's Facebook photos, before she realised there was a "like" button.
The beautiful moment Lois never thought she would see, was when Nunni held Jack, her first great-grandchild, and cried (of course)
We were always so excited to tell her good news in our lives, no matter how small, knowing she would be ecstatic and so proud of us.
She was always as sharp as a tack, even on her last day. She had a wicked sense of humour and said the funniest things, (whether she meant to or not!) But mainly her warmth and her ability to make anyone feel special and welcome, and her loved ones utterly adored. Not to mention her ability to strike up a conversation and make friends in the time it takes the rest of us to blink.
She was our confidante, our cheerleader, our teacher, our soundboard, our shopping spree buddy, our middle-of-the-night card game opponent...our friend.
We will live in comfort, knowing that she will reunite with our Nonno, her siblings, and especially her Mama so they can watch their stories together; and if we want to talk to her every day, we know she will hear us xx
