Cousins
My daughter, Ilaria, spoke almost exclusively Italian 2 years ago when we moved to the States. She understood English, but had always spoken in Italian. Now it is the exact opposite. She understands Italian, but won’t speak it. The other day, after she got over her initial disorientation, she asked me, “Mami, does everyone at the beach speak Italian?” She has begun to speak a little and wanting to play and communicate with the other kids at the beach has pushed her to remember her Italian. Today, she was playing with her cousins (who don’t speak English), and she was trying to get them involved in one of her playacting stories, but she kept talking in English. I had to remind her that they didn’t understand. They kept looking at me for a translation. She is doing really well and I hope that we are able to help her continue speaking in Italian when we return. Even though we speak in Italian at home, all she hears everywhere else is English.
Any excuse is a good excuse…
I have always said that – for the people of Naples – any excuse is a good excuse for a party and fireworks. Now, I could live without the fireworks – especially since most of the time they start shooting them off at midnight when I tend to like to be snuggled in bed sleeping peacefully. The parties on the other hand…now those are fun. I am not a huge party person, but the Neopolitans are so spontaneous and alive when they decide to get together. Last night we went to a birthday party. One of Massimiliano’s friends since forever came in to his own family’s beach house to celebrate with his family and a few friends. Food, drinks, laughter and music for hours. The guys pulled out their guitars and sang songs that they wrote together in that very house 25 years ago. They turned water bottles and coke cans into marroccos and had a great time. Every time we turned around, this friend’s mom and sister were bringing platters of fresh seafood out of the kitchen. They told stories on one another and griped about the competing music down the street. (Everything takes place outside in the evenings. Nobody has air conditioning, windows are thrown open and people wander from house to house socializing.) My personality tends toward the perfectly organized party with a specific number of people invited, where I know who is coming and everything is perfectly in order. Yet, I am strangely attracted to the Neopolitan sponteneity – where anyone and everyone is welcome, they can always throw some more pasta on and nothing is ever perfectly in order. (And 9 times out of 10, there will be drama.) 
Relax in the Keeping Power of God
Coming back to Italy after 2 years has been a satisfaction, but we have also had to deal with situations and emotions from which we had been mostly liberated and removed. There is no getting around them while here, however, and for the first few nights, I suffered panic attacks and had trouble sleeping.
The encouragement for August 9 in the Bible Study I am following is entitled Relax in the Keeping Power of God. “Trust in Him. The Bible says that God never sleeps nor slumbers. When you go to sleep at night, He stays up and watches over you. Relax and trust Him to strengthen you and keep you all the days of your life.”
As we also strive to repair relationships and as we search for ways to encourage and help my mother-in-law in her depression and difficulty, today’s lesson spoke to me. Enjoy God’s Grace While You Wait. “Trusting God to do what only He can do always leads to joy, because ‘what is impossible with men is possible with God’ (Luke 18:27).”
