Tonight we celebrated Zia’s 75th birthday. In
Italy, people either fete birthdays or a saint’s day. For Zia it is both, as
she was named Carmelita after the saint of July 16. We had cake, she was happy,
and our neighbors came by and talked with her for a couple of hours. Every once
in a while I spoke, but I understood their entire conversation, which is both
encouraging and scary.
After cake, the granddaughter of one of our neighbors
stopped by and gave Zia a lesson on how to use her cell phone. It was funny
watching how animated an 8-year-old can be here in Italy. Her hands were moving
faster than the words were coming out. The best was when she got loud and
pretty much told Zia that her phone is old. It was a funny conversation to watch.
