A Mother's Musings: A trip down memory lane

Your great-grandparent's home is going up for auction in two weeks and I thought I would share some photos with you to mark four months since your Nonno's passing. It's hard to believe that the home in which we all spent much of our childhoods and of which we have so many fond memories, will soon be passed over into someone else's hands. Whatever happens one thing's for sure, I will never forget the wonderful experiences I had visiting and living there. The warmth that oozed from this home is something I will never forget. They say it's the people that make a home and I couldn't agree more but it's also that passion and commitment and pride that your great-grandfather had for his home that always made it a joy to come home to.

Some are of these photos are of me and my siblings as kids and others are from later on. All are from times spent in the company of your great-grandparents and what lovely memories they were. Their house was always a safe haven for us, a place to play and enjoy. A place of calm and of rest, a place of learning and quite contemplation. As children we would visit during our school holidays. I remember the first time we came to visit after your great-grandparents moved here. My family was still living in Sydney and my sister and I caught a plane on our own for the first time. I remember feeling exhilarated as we climbed the staircase and were ushered to our seats at the front. We were given colouring in kits and upon arrival were escorted off with the flight attendants. I loved having a big, new and unfamiliar house to roam around, corners to explore and hiding spots to uncover. As kids, the pool was a big attraction and we loved having our cousins visit as we would have so much fun in the pool together. Later when I started high school my parents decided to move house yet again. I knew that I wanted to stay put in a school for long enough to make a few good friends and so I asked your great-grandparents if I could live with them. They agreed of course. That's the kind of people they are. My sister followed and soon we were living and studying together under their roof. There were rules to be followed but grandad was always fair. He allowed us to go out but gave us curfews and would always collect us when the time came. I was quite a homebody and enjoyed my grandmother's company, in fact I got so used to be around people their age that I soon began to prefer the company of my elders. I never had to impress them and the conversation never turned to relationships or school or teachers. It was like an escape from the demands of high school for me.

I stayed in this home until I graduated from high school in 1997 but would often return on holidays. Whenever your daddy and I were visiting the Gold Coast we would come and stay and after you were born we spent our first December here and it was the first and only time you met your great-grandad. I am so grateful for the opportunity he had to meet and spend some time with you. He was such a gentle man and you really took to one another. During his dying days he told me to give his regards to your dad and to give you a cuddle. He was always thinking about others.

From Left, uncle Phil, uncle Chris, aunty Sarah and mum

My birthday (here with aunty Sarah, my cousins Jacqui
and Matt and uncle Chris). Can you spot Nanny and Nonna?

Nonna, mum, uncle Chris, Nanny and Nanny's sister's
family

Mummy on the night of her Yr 10 graduation

Mummy with a couple of her high school friends - Jenny,
Nicole and Karina

Nonna on one of the few occasions she used the spa or pool.
Your great-grandparents couldn't swim, although we did try
teaching them a couple of times

Whenever guests came over for lunch, Nonna always made
her famous pasta alla napolitana. Nonno and his brother with
Nanny, mum and Nonna's sisters Francis and Helen.

Aunty Sarah and mum in their high school
days

Mummy and her beloved Nonna. Here I am
in a pair of her leather pants which she
insisted on having taken in just so that
I could wear them!

Your Nonno was a keen fisherman and often
caught fish in the canal. Every morning he'd
check the bait on his lines and inspect his
crab trap. He enjoyed eating bream, mud
crabs and garfish.

When your daddy and I met your great-grand
parents for the first time they took us out for a
day on their boat. We didn't have Nonno's luck
that day while fishing and only caught a small
fish which wasn't good eating.