My husband's grandmother, Jole, turned 80 yesterday. We have been lucky to have her as our guest for the past month. She has given us a hand with the kids and with the cooking (she is an excellent cook), and I have gotten a chance to really get to know her better and hear the wonderful stories of her very interesting life.
Jole is one of seven children. With her mother being widowed at a young age, the kids were sent to work when they were really little to support the family. Jole began working for a wig maker and went collecting people's hair that they wished to sell for cash. She learned how to make wigs and style hair, and this led her to a very full and interesting career in the Italian (really international) film industry as a hair designer. She has seen the lows of a country at war and the highs of the best era of Italian cinema (which sadly has never come back to life).
In the picture you see above, she is with all of her great grandchildren. Because I don't have any grandparents that are still alive, I really treasure the time that we have all had with her.
2 comments:
So sweet. I don't have living grandparents either and I miss them so much now. I wonder what they would say to me about motherhood, life, marriage, working, money, etc. I am so glad you had this time with such a special lady.
Love and miss you!
Even as a little kid, I used to listen to my great grandfather talk for hours about his life as a child. I was so fascinated to hear about a time without airplanes - when wooden rafts were public transportation. And to get a first hand account of it, with his unique perspective.
Reading this post brought so of that back for me. Thanks!
You are lucky to have her around -
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