A new year signifies change. An opportunity to reflect back on the past year or years. Things you’ve learned, memories you’ve made. As I reflect back on the life of my Nonnie, there are so many things that I’ve learned from her and memories we made together or that she made with all of you gathered here today. I just wanted to take a moment to look back at the amazing life and beautiful woman we were all blessed to know.
I’m so thankful to have such a close relationship with Nonnie. Growing up I would spend most of my time at her house. We would have lunch together, pick weeds in the driveway, cook together, work in the garden together, go to the mall - we were inseparable. The better part of my childhood was spend with her. Being a single parent wasn’t easy on my mom, but Nonnie made sure that we never felt like we were missing anything. What we didn’t have, she made up for In double the love and triple the food. Although I’m sure my mom would tell you she could have done without the 7am wake up call every morning and the 5pm “are you home yet” call the minute my mom would come home from work. We had our Saturday night ritual, our “girls night” which usually included a stop to the corner store for candy, a visit to see her friends and then an episode of America’s Most Wanted and coffee before bed. She always kicked my nonno out of her room that night because she knew I was scared to sleep alone so she would let me stay with her.
Even after moving to Toronto we always stayed close and made it a point to have a quick phone call as often as we could. My favourite part of coming home to visit was her home-cooked feasts. She also made sure to send me back with lots of pasta sauce and burnt breadsticks just because she knew that’s how i liked them.
Family or not she made everyone feel welcome. She was kind and generous and cared for everyone like her own but also wasn’t afraid to give you heck like you were her own. She was sweet but demanding, unbelievably compassionate and kind. Her heart and generosity knew no bounds.
Although she’s not here anymore, her legacy will live on as she has such a strong and positive impact on our lives. She instilled so many strong values in me: respect everyone, family is the most important thing you’ll ever have, money doesn’t buy happiness, it’s important to give back to those in need, and my favourite which she would tell me often “when you love each other, you no fight”
You may have noticed a star certificate when you walked in. It was purchased in memory of Nonnie - just like a star her spirit is bright and everlasting. A reminder that she’s always watching over us.
It’s going to be difficult without her here but how lucky are we to have had something that makes saying goodbye so hard?
In closing I just wanted to share this excerpt:
To consider that after the death of the body the spirit perishes, is like imagining that a bird in a cage will be destroyed if the cage is broken, though the bird has nothing to fear from the destruction of the cage. Our body is like the cage, and the spirit is like the bird…if the cage becomes broken, the bird will continue and exist. Its feelings will be even more powerful, its perceptions greater, and its happiness increased
