Cutting the Apron Strings

My husband left Italy for the first time when he was 21. He came and went once more when he was 28 and now he is leaving for the third time. His mother is of course very sad at the thought of us moving back to the states especially with Veronica. The reality is she has two daughters living in Italy and with us in the United States she will have many chances to come and visit. Her plate at this moment is quite full and she takes care of her two grandchildren full time and one another grandchild part-time. She also is managing her household as well as another rental property. Her dream of having all her children living close by is shattered for the moment. (We never said that we did not want to come back someday.)

In preparation for a move, Demetrio has started going through and deciding which things to want to take with him to the states from his mom’s house. (Yes, he still has things stored at his mom’s house.)

A Short List:

Old tax returns/diplomas/Boy Scout diary
Old photos
Bags of old love letters and correspondences
A T-shirt given to him by his first girlfriend when he was 14
Many old clothing/shoes/belts
Over 300 vinyl records
Boxes upon boxes of books
Things for the kitchen
Old VHS tapes ( including Wham Live in China, Katrina and the Waves, Now 6, the making of We are the World, and many many more.)
Old cassette tapes (things copied from the radio, tapes made by old friends, Belinda Carlisle, and many many more.)

One of the things I like about Italy is that it is not as disposable a society as the one we have United States. People save things for ages, men and women ride around in 25-year-old bikes with flat tires and rusty spokes. There are many old cars on the road, and if you leave something outside the dumpster, someone else is bound to come and pick it up. Things are recycled repeatedly and I think it is a good thing but leaving boxes of junk at your mom’s house is not a good thing. Her basement is full of her children’s stuff; she has even rented an attic space to store all the things for children leave behind. Now that we have begun to really scale down in preparation for a move, I wonder if she feels like she/he the apron strings are being cut forever because the next time she opens up a closet, there will not be anything of Demetrio’s left in her house.

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