I grabbed this iphone snap today while at the wake of an Italian Great Aunt of mine.
In the photo are my Gran and her younger Brother. They are the only surviving siblings of five. My Gran being the oldest and Gianni the youngest. I can’t remember ever seeing an image of them on their own. I felt really proud of my Italian roots today. British.. Italian.. Ukrainian.. Scottish.. German.. I’m such a mongrel with all my international genes, that at times it feels hard to belong to any particular culture. Today though was different. I was surrounded by the family I’ve known the longest. All Italian. All looking out for one another. It’s the oldest members of the family that seem to be the keystones. The keepers of family values. I hope the young ones can learn similar values. It’s nice to feel like you belong.