#40: Family

I don’t know what I expected to find in Italy the day I left on August 27, 2007.  I expected adventure in making a new home in a foreign country and teaching English.  I expected to improve my Italian to whole new levels of fluency.  I expected to resume my friendship with my friends in Ferrara (whoops) and to make new friends (check) even maybe a romantic encounter (triple check).

What I did not expect to find was family, but it was family that I ultimately found.

Though it took me a while to meet Riccardo’s mother and a bit longer to see her on a regular basis, it didn’t take long for Giordana to take me under her wing.  I was a little terrified at first, having never met a boyfriend’s mother, but after several Sunday lunches, I grew to feel very much at home in Via della Pietra.  It was something that fundamentally changed my experience in Italy.

Since leaving home at 18, I was used to creating my own home wherever I was, but it’s not quite the same as having a home base nearby.  It meant getting fussed over when I had a cough, having leftovers sent home to our fridge, someone to consult over how to properly cook an oven frittata, and countless other details that you don’t realize you’ve missed until you see how much they enrich your life.

I grew exceedingly fond of Riccardo’s brother, Matteo, and his girlfriend Margherita.  It was exciting to be there for Margherita’s pregnancy and to watch my new nephew Giacomo grow from newborn to a chubby chuckling 6-month-old.  I also got to know Riccardo’s uncle and aunt, his cousin and cousin’s wife and toddler Arturo (now a little boy), and enjoyed spending holidays and special events with them.

In essence, I was adopted.  This isn’t necessarily the case with all in-laws, so I’m well aware that this relationship is special, and I cherish them all the more for it.  Saying goodbye to Giordana, Matteo, Margherita, and Giacomo was perhaps the hardest part of all.  I will miss them so much.

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