family connections

i have been in california since last friday for my family. my grandmother passed away last monday. she had been ill for 4 1/2 years since she had a stroke. i was able to fly out with just baby blaise for a little time away from our life on the east coast to be a support. thanks to my dear husband, his parents and our babysitters, i was able to go to the funeral.

my grandmother and i were not close. i wish that we had been. but one thing i know is that she was a really wonderful person. she was an artist, a sculptor. she was an italian american. born in brooklyn to immigrant parents. she was a war bride. she was a mother of three. she was so many things that i am now. its funny, that when you begin to focus on someone's life, and what they did, who they were, there is this an amazing connection that you can have -- you begin to discover why you are the way you are. i am going home tomorrow and i go home with a stronger, more unique identity, ties to my grandmother and my auntie that i am so proud to have.