Hi! My name is Lorenzo and I live in Canada. Actually, I
used to live in another country, on an island located in the middle of an
amazing sea called Mediterranean. Until one day, my family and I decided that
was time to leave.
Did I really decide? No of course! But when you are four and
a half, unless it is your birthday, or you are really spoiled, it is unusual
that adults think you can make your own choices. They have a point, though!
Until the day my
daddy and mommy explained to me what was about to happen, I remember I was
going to an amazing beach almost every afternoon. Mom was riding the bike, I was just enjoying the show.
To me it looked amazing,
although I remember my parents saying how bad it was that most of the people
didn’t realize how fortunate they were. They were also saying something like, "one cannot live an entire life on a beautiful beach in happiness, when recklessness is all around".
I also remember we had lots of friends. We were hanging out
with them a lot. A birthday party here, another celebration there…
Every morning my daddy used to drive me to a day care. Back
then I was spending my days surrounded by many friends, and a couple of
bullies. Trust me, that sort of little monsters who need to scream and threaten
other children are all over the world. However, too bad for them! Being happy
is cooler than being bully and, on top of that, if you grind your teeth like Hulk,
you do risk pooing in your pants. Aww, I
wouldn’t take their place!
Sometimes I used to
pretend to ride a motorcycle with my Daddy and, believe me, that was sooooo
cool!
One part of my family lived in Palermo, the same city I come
from. We were often visiting my daddy’s parents and relatives. Nonna Lilli was
a librarian. She still loves to play with kids and tell them as many stories as
she can. She actually changes her voice depending on the character who is
speaking. She knows everything about the history of my city. Why we eat strange
street food, why we have so many beautiful old palaces, and she was repeating
almost every Sunday she wanted to bring all her grandchildren on a tour of the
city by chariot. That would have been so cool, but my daddy was always saying
no ‘cause it was too expensive!
I don’t understand why parents are like that sometimes! It
looks like cool stuff is always expensive, while going to a doctor, having a
shot, going to school is cheap enough to do it every day! Anyway, they say one
day I will understand. I guess I have to be patient…
Then, there were Nonno Lorenzo, Auntie Claudia, uncle Filippo
and my cousin Chiara.
Yes, you are right! I have my grandpa’s name. Apparently he
didn’t want me to have his name, but my mom decided that, and I soon understood
that between the 2 of them it was better to stay quiet. They loved each-other
and the way they used to show it, it was kind of awkward from my altitude.
Some other weekends we used to visit my other two
grandparents who lived in another city, and there, on the top of a green hill
there was their cottage, Luziano. Oh,
that was fun! With my cousin Mattia we were both doing crazy stuff: climbing on
trees, looking for insects, fighting…well! That was not exactly cool…but it was
fun at least for us! I am sure Auntie Cinzia and my Mom would look at this thing
differently! We’d better not ask.
My Grandpa Salvo used to buy fresh fish and sea urchins
early in the morning, every time we were sleeping over at their place. While my
uncle Davide and uncle Fabrizio were actually able to catch octopuses, directly
from the sea, with their hands! If you haven’t tried already, you should see
how mushy and squishy their tentacles are!
Grandma Ezia used to cook delicious dishes. One day we even
had squid’s ink black spaghetti. Can you believe it? There’s actually a type of
ink that is edible! I think my dentist
could faint if she saw my teeth after eating that.
We spent our last summer in Sicily visiting beautiful
places. Sunsets on the beach, trips to smaller islands, sea and swimming pools,
family and friends, love and laugh. My sister Maia was born the winter before, and
I remember I had to share my lemon Popsicle with her every afternoon. This is
what happens when you have siblings.
It doesn’t matter if you are just 3 years old. By the day they
come out from mommy’s belly, the most used word in the family is “share”. You
start sharing everything even though that small, chubby, noisy and tooth-less
human being is actually chewing on your favorite toys which, from now on, are constantly
covered in a squishy layer of saliva.
She was cute, though! And, most important, she was going to
move to Canada with us. I was not the only child, then! And, trust me! That was
good news…
One day Mommy and Daddy put me in front of my toys cabinet. They
started saying we were going to bring some of my toys with me, while giving
others to children less fortunate than I was. When you are four, it is not
always easy to accept the idea that, all of a sudden, you have to get rid of
your toys.
I guess by the time one becomes an adult, many important things
flew away like geese heading south. For example, one forgets that as a child,
it doesn’t matter if you play or not with a certain toy anymore. What really
matters to you is that feeling of certainty, the fact that you would be able to
find it, lost under a hill of broken stuff, should you decide to resume it.
I was not sure if it was a good idea trying to convince them
to bring everything with us. They thought I was a “big boy” when, with a big
smile, I accepted their offer. I don’t know if I really was. All that I know is
that now I can tell the truth. I was not happy about that, but that sad, shy
glimpse in their eyes suggested it was nicer of me to stay quiet and help them
out in a difficult and embarrassing moment.
(…)
No comments:
Post a Comment