The sequel "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" just came to theaters. After years of waiting for Toula and her crazy family to make another big and fat appearance on the big screen, my cousins and I made sure to see it. The main reason we went to see it is because we are as many describe us a "Big Fat Italian Family."
Italians are described as very loud and physical people, always talking with their hands. This is all very true, but most importantly, we are always there for one another. The love and endless caring for each family is remarkable. One aspect of my life that I will never change or walk away from is my beautiful family. I wish I could provide statistics and numbers but it is growing too fast.
We know how to party hard, that is for sure. Having weddings with at least 200 people at the most elegant venue with endless amounts of food and Italian music playing. Americans who are invited to our weddings seem a bit scared at first but because Italians are so inspirational, the Americans become Italian that night and for the rest of the lives.
Another remarkable gift of being Italian is getting a good laugh from your Italian relatives when they pronounce certain things in English with their Italian accent. To be more specific, my mother and uncle could literally host a comedy show together because they understand when they speak to one another but if we go out to a diner for breakfast it is a laugh fest. The waitress is usually a young girl in her 20s who has never been out of the country makes her way to a table of four dark skinned European looking individuals. She proceeds to ask for our drinks. My mother asks for water and a bowl of lemon and my uncle asks for a cup of ice. This is just the beginning. She returns to our table and asks for our order. My uncle then says, "Ham e chessy." But the waitress had assumed he wanted a cheeseburger instead of a Ham and Cheese omlette. I remember this particular morning because I had come home for the weekend. I tried to resist the temptation to laugh, but it was just too difficult. Then it was my mothers turn to order, she always likes to customize her meal and likes to describe it because it is usually not present on the menu. She takes up to five minutes to order a sandwich with egg whites and likes to explain it with her hands. I am not making fun of my family at all. I love them and enjoy going out with them.
Tomato sauce making day usually takes place annually during the month of August. My uncle hosts at his house and likes to have everyone present to help out and keep the tradition. We are usually 15-20 people working a whole work day just to make tomato sauce. I know it may sound silly, but our lives revolve around food, especially our sauce (not gravy that you put on turkey at Thanksgiving, but I could write another article about that some other time). This day, in particular, we argue and get controlling because we all get up at 4:30 a.m. - 6 a.m. to prepare the operations. After the hard work of staring at red liquid for an entire day, we have a feast of wonderful food made by my Zia Sabrina.
When you know that you can live life knowing that you have an entire support system there for you, it's an amazing feeling. I love my family with all my heart, and I do my best to try and do at least half of what they do for me. So yes, we are a Big Fat Italian Family but I would never change a thing.
Dedicato a tutti voi, sapete chi siete.....
