For Nana, My Angel

Ugh, I've been so, so busy lately and I've had so little time to dedicate to any sort of writing, but I cannot let this day end without acknowledging a very special and solemn anniversary.  It was 20 years ago today that my nana, my mother's mother, Mary Randazzo, passed away.

Nana always was and still is one of the most special people in my life.  In many ways, she was like a second mother to me, especially during the couple of years I lived with my grandparents in the early 80's to attend Fordham University in the Bronx.  Nana was so many things, an awesome cook, a loving wife, mother and grandmother, and a selfless caregiver to anyone that ever needed her help.

She had a self-deprecating sense of humor, yet she could hold her own against her husband Joe, my loud-mouthed grandpa with a Sicilian temper, when need be.  All of us kids loved spending time with her.  She fed us, entertained us, and always had a way of making us laugh, never afraid to make a fool of herself just to get a chuckle out of the nine of us grand kids.  She'd serenade us with lines from songs like "Ride a cock horse, to Danbury Cross, to see a pink lady upon a white horse" (we'd all take turns riding her knee as she sang this), and whenever we'd leave her house from a visit, she'd say to my dad, Now George, make me look good," and then she'd appear to push our car out of the driveway with her brute force. These are the kinds of things you never forget.   (I'm smiling right now as I write this...)

This is the only picture I have of my 

nana, from when she was probably in her 20's

I'd love to tell you more about this very special person, but unfortunately I am short on time.  I will get to it, though.  There's so much to say about this wonderful lady who was full of life and full of love and that everybody loved back.  A few weeks ago, when I had my Tarot cards read, the psychic told me that I've inherited a lot of traits from her and that she is out there somewhere looking down on me and rooting me on. I have the opportunity to live a life that she would have liked to live, using the gifts that she passed down to me, and I want to make her proud.  Ever since that day, I've felt a little better knowing that even though she's been gone for 20 years, she's still there, watching over me.  She's my angel...

To see more of what nana was like, check out A Weekend Full of Memories.