Living on Long Island, you encounter a plethora of different cultures. One of the more common ones being Italian. Even if your mother or any close female relative isn't Italian, I'm sure you've heard these phrases once in a while. And if you happen to have an Italian mom, grandma, aunt, they're drilled into your head.
1. Eat Something.
Now, this phrase is appropriate for anytime of day. Did you just wake up? Are you about to leave the house? Did you just eat? Are you going to work? Are you going to sleep? Then, eat something.
2. What do you want for dinner?
There's really no point in asking this question, because it's almost guaranteed that whatever you want to eat she doesn't have or doesn't feel like making. This question is usually followed up by, "What else do you want?"
3. I'm Not Yelling.
Something I now know all too well. Italians don't yell, they just talk loud. This isn't restricted to just Moms, I find myself talking so loud to my friends as if they were in another time zone when in reality they're sitting right in front of me. (oops)
4. When is Andrea Bocelli coming on?
Now, I appreciate all forms of music, but it seems to me that this man has some type of power that unites all Italian Moms into one huge fangirling bunch. If you open your window now and listen closely, I'm sure you can hear faint sounds of opera radiating from your nearest Italian household.
5. Don't touch that, it's for later.
I don't know who or when we're saving this mozz (muhtz) for, but I'm hungry. If you open up a typical Italian fridge, you can visibly see the "eat" and "don't touch" departments. I'm not sure why I can't use this salami for my sandwich right now, but apparently we're saving it for Tuesday, whatever is happening on Tuesday.
6. Have some more.
If you're visiting a friend with an Italian mom, always say yes. If you don't, I can't promise you what comes next. Also, having a little more might as well mean have another 8 lb. of pasta — and you better finish it, because there's people starving in (name a country).
