My mother came from Southern Italy

My mother came from Southern Italy back in the 1950's she was only 9 when she moved to America. Originally they came to New York but ended up moving to an Italian neighborhood in New Jersey. Italians weren't very well liked back then since they spoke differently and were very dark skinned.

Being new to the American culture it was a challenge for my mom to get along with the American kids in school. They used to make fun of her and say racial slurs to her because of the way she used to speak and look. My mom would come home every day from school crying wanting to go back to Italy. My grandparents reassured her that it will get better since this is America a land of the free.

My mom was so determined to learn English that she taught herself how to speak English by reading the dictionary. They lived in a small house with twelve siblings so there weren't a lot of places for her to read the dictionary, so she would read it in the bathroom while everyone was sleeping. Until one day one of the Italian ladies down the street gave her a flashlight so she was able to read the dictionary in her room.

This was a challenge for her because she wasn't allowed to speak American in the house only Italian. Outside of the house she could only could only speak American and Italian was only for Italians who spoke the language. She was raised that she couldn't speak Italian to anyone outside of his or her ethnic culture.

A few years later my mom's family moved to Missouri where they had bought a farm. Back then land was so cheap that my grandpa was able to buy a decent farm. My mom had to work on the farm everyday before and after school to help her family with the livestock they had.

After high school my met my dad who was German which made my grandparents very upset. Because they wanted my mom to marry an Italian not a non-Italian. My grandparents ended up disowning my mom for several years after she married my dad. When my mom had her kids my grandparents decided to rekindle their relationship since the kids were half-Italian.

She taught us how to speak Italian and how to cook. My mom was like MacGyver in the kitchen. She could take anything out of the refrigerator and conjure up a delicious dinner. She taught us all the tricks that my grandparents taught her when it came to making recipes.

My mom taught us about family values and traditions and how important it is to treat your brothers and sisters as yourself. My mom showed her family ho you put your family before anything else and not let work gets in the way of that.

It was until recently that I found out how much my mom did for us while we were growing up. She never cursed or drank alcohol in front of us. She never even talked about her youthful past because she didn't want us to use any excuses of causing havoc. She told us long time ago that when you're an adult you will get to experience all the world has to offer. But as a mother her job was to guide us, teach us, and lead us to a life of enjoyment and fun.