Threads and Pencils: Energy lives on

I've been a little slow to write. It's been an emotional week. My Grandfather in Italy passed away on Sunday. His passing has really saddened me beyond words. Sad for my Mom, her heart is broken. Sad for my family, my Brothers, my Aunts and Uncle, my cousins. My Nonno was a great man, a true gentleman. A calm personality, a happy person. When I envision him, I see him smiling in my memories. I hear him chuckling because he realized I was looking at the cards he was holding from the reflection of his glasses. I see him biting his finger instead of pinching cheeks that he thought were so cute.

Anyway, the sadness of finality feel so intense. You can feel it in the pit of your stomach. Much like my Mom though, I feel him in the nature around us. The day he passed, the children were in the pool and I sat on the chair outside watching them and just taking in the sounds all around me. As I looked beyond the yard, a beautiful bird landed on the Palm trees overlooking the pool. Shortly after, a smaller bird landed on the same Palm tree and they both sat watching us. The smaller bird flew off, the bigger bird stayed longer watching. I felt this calmness come over me, a sense of peace. I felt at that moment that my Grandparents together, are watching over us. It made me sad and happy at the same time. And so, now, 4 days later, it has become my morning ritual, open all the windows so I can hear all the birds waking and chirping as the daylight slowly rises.

This morning as I opened all the windows to listen to my birds, I saw shadows out back and realized that the moon was shining so brightly (of course, it was 5:15 a.m. afterall!) I went outside and sat with my cup of coffee, moon gazing, realizing that there were 2 twinkling stars on either side of the moon. I remembered how Nonno would stay up late at night so that he could see the moon at the same time we would be seeing the moon on the East Coast of the US. Again I sat, in peace and sadness.

This week, I found solace in art and so each day (but today) I have completed at least one painting. This painting is in memory of Nonno, the 2 olive trees to symbolize his country side, the Anemones sprinkling the Mediterranean Coast, 2 birds, a feast and a bench (a memory that my grandfather's shared together that I will never forget). It's matted and sits here on my work table to remind me of a beautiful soul who blessed us for so long, who will be forever missed.

Until next time,

♡ ąlexąnʠяą