All Souls Day...

It's Wednesday and that generally means that the market is open in Motta and I can get some fresh fruits and veggies.  I haven't been in a couple of weeks since Gavin had been sick.  I'm not feeling so hot today myself, but thought I should make myself go on up there.

Cody pulled Norah out of bed and dressed her, all the while she is yelling, "No, I want to sleep!" I drove Cody to work and headed up to Motta.  We've started taking an alternate road between here and NAS1 since the regular road is rough and has tons of potholes.  Our car has started making a noise coming from the underside on the right like something is loose.  We haven't figured out what it is yet, but think it may have something to do with driving that rough road.  Anyway, I took the alternate road and then proceeded up the back Motta road.  There was apparently an accident because there was a firetruck, an ambulance and a military guy directing traffic.  I couldn't tell what had happened, but hopefully no one was injured.  That is one of the things that I'm afraid of happening, an accident.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that Sicilians drive like crazy people.  Most everyone thinks that the people drive crazy wherever they live, but here it is absolutely true.  If any of my family or friends were to see how they drive, you would fall over.  They fly past you and pass even when there is traffic in the oncoming lane.  It's crazy.

Norah of course fell asleep on the way to the market.  I finally get there and it's empty.  Ugh.  I had forgotten that it is All Souls Day.  There was one single vendor there selling flowers.  The is market area is directly across from the cemetery so that makes sense.  Today is the day that families head to the cemetery and place flowers on the graves of their deceased loved ones and remember them.

In honor of this day I'd like to remember my Mama.

Donna Jane Thomason Curran
15 May 1957~18 May 2006

This is my Mama.  I miss her each and every day.  She was 27 in that photo.  She loved Science fiction movies and Romance novels.  She taught me to use my imagination.  She loved to watch cooking shows.  She enjoyed painting ceramic and plaster figurines.  I wish she could have got to know Gavin and Norah.  She would have loved having a granddaughter.  I gave Norah the middle name of Jane in honor of Mama.

Many people that I have cared about have passed away.  Dealing with death is just a part of life.  It often seems that Americans don't want to deal with death.  We don't want to take our children to funerals and we often make it a scary thing.  It is scary, but it doesn't have to scare you.  It's interesting how other cultures, such as Italians, embrace their deceased love ones and make the idea of them coming back to visit, not scary.  They make bone cookies to celebrate! And their past relatives leave gifts the night before for the children to find, something like our tooth-fairy