Lessons in Motherhood

While my Dad was here last week, he received the following Facebook message…

alo peter sono PEPPUCCIO DALLA SICILIA TERMINI SEI TU IL FIGLIO DI MARIA E AUGUST PALMISANO?

That’s Italian if you’re not a language expert. Roughly translated it means…

Hello, Peter. I am Peppuccio from Termini, Sicily. Are you the son of Maria and August Palmisano?

The message turned out to be from my father’s cousin on his father’s side. Now, you’re probably thinking that this is not a big deal because people are finding relatives on Facebook all the time. Here’s the deal though. We have always known that we had family in Italy. My Grandfather, who died before I was born, was one of 6 siblings. Three came to America, and three stayed in Italy. At some point, we lost contact (perhaps due to some crazy family feud) with the family in Italy. My Dad has tried several times to contact our family there, but with no luck.

None of us, not my Father, his two brothers, their children, nor myself have ever set foot on Sicily, the land where my Grandfather was born. I have only dreamed of finding the rest of our family which connects me to my Grandfather in a way that I have never known. It’s the closest that I will ever come to knowing him.

And there it was…that one little Facebook message which changed the course of our family’s history. Over the past week, my Dad has been communicating with Peppuccio and filling in more of our family history. Both families in the US and Italy are so thrilled to have made the connection. Peppuccio is downright poetic about it (or we think he is since we are roughly translating his Italian).

This all culminated in the purchase of three plane tickets for the three brothers – my father and two uncles – to return to the land of their father’s birth and to meet their cousins.

These are my favorite messages from Peppuccio (with a little translation assistance)…

“We are happy to welcome you here in Sicily and Termini so you can see how beautiful is this land of your father and mother. I am sure that our grandmother Antonina Aunt Mary and Aunt Manina from heaven will be happy. And in 60 days we embrace after 60 years since we were born.”

“Expect to see you with my heart full of happiness. You will see that Sicily is different from all others because of your father and the earth. You will breathe the same air you will see the same sea that he has lived and you will love Termini Imerese.”

I wish I could be in the airport when they finally meet. Luckily, I’m already planning our trip there in the Spring to experience it for myself.