Emma!

We had a visit from my niece, Annie, her Italian husband, Davide and their very multi-cultural daughter, Emma. We have spent many wonderful weeks with them at their home in the Piedmont region of Italy, and now they spend summers in Southern California. They came through on a flying visit for one night, and it was Emma's birthday as well. (Too bad they had to spend too much of it in the car fighting traffic from SFO) In the fall, they will be moving to Yorkshire for three years. Emma has lost her Italian accent, will gain a a British one for awhile and currently, after being in California for a month, sounds like a native Californian! She appears to flow seamlessly between cultures.

The connections we make via our families are both wonderful (and sometimes challenging) and are reflected in the cultures that we create within families. Family cultures too, evolve and change over time, and it is sometimes too easy to take family ties for granted, without recognizing underlying expectations, pressures and demands. It was nice, separated as we are by time, continent and culture, to see these three, and spend a celebratory evening together. I'm proud of our family, individually and collectively, aware that family ties have to be nurtured and respected, and hope never to take them for granted.

After all the unpacking, arranging and rearranging of all our "decor items" I have been hunting for two days for a vase which I know I brought with me from Berkeley. Now where did I decide was the perfect place to store it? Or did I bring it with me from Berkeley...?