My Mother, My Self

The choice I made a few weeks ago was simple and unequivocal. I had the chance to spend a whole week with my mother in Italy amongst her close family and friends. K picked her up in England and accompanied her to Mosciano Sant' Angelo, in Abruzzo, where I joined her. Just the two of us, my mother and myself.

A Lifetime Bond
The complex and quite often symbiotic relationship between a mother and daughter is one which is unique and unbreakable. This bond is forged even before birth. There is an innate "natural instinct" to protect and nurture, love and cherish, til death do us part. For the past week I have devoted myself to the person who gave me my life. Her own life hung in the balance just under a year ago. The family was in turmoil. A new era had dawned. With remarkable spirit and determination, my mother was able to pull herself out of the long, black tunnel she so unexpectedly and violently entered, to come back smiling in her inimitable fashion into the daylight that now surrounds her.

A Heartfelt Thank You
A big thank you to everyone who came to visit my mother while she was in Italy last week. It meant so much to her to be back amongst her close family and friends. Her "joie de vivre"was palpable and infectious. Everyone was amazed to see my mother again after all that she had been through. She is indeed a fighter.

Delizia!I had no access to technology during my week away from home. I did not blog, tweet, take part in Ning discussions, Moodle, Google-Wave or do any course work. So, with my mother comfortably tucked up in bed usually by 7pm every night, I whiled away the evening hours by reading "Delizia!" by John Dickie. It was an excellent choice. The epic history of the Italian people and Italian food was a riveting read. I was fascinated to discover more about the mass emigration of Italians to the USA. In addition, all the major cities which have food named after them were mentioned. In particular, I enjoyed reading about the history of Naples and its food, which were vividly depicted. I would love to visit this city which has undergone so much of a turbulant past. I would also love to read Sofia Loren's cookbook called "In Cucina con Amore" published in 1971 in America. Her huge smile in the picture below says it all.

Image above from the book found courtesy of Google search. Other images used found via Google Images.