Family Reunion in Canberra

There is a joke running around Facebook at the moment, that poses the question: What advice would you give your non-Italian partner meeting your Italian family for the first time?

The hundreds of answers are all correct. * They are not arguing, they are always that loud. * Everyone talks with their hands. * Learn to conduct several conversations at once. * Don’t fill up on the lasagna, it’s just the entree (that was Bill’s rookie mistake). * No, they did not cook a banquet for you. This is the normal amount of food for a family dinner. * Everyone is related. * The Goodbyes can take as long as the visit.

I was twenty-five before I met my father, and I met Bill a few years later. So, even though I am half Anglo-Oz, he has never known me not to be a part of an Italian family, and he has been a good sport about it. He welcomes having such a large family. Last weekend was one such example.

Our cousin has come from Italy for a four month visit to her 97-year-old mother who lives in Canberra. So we, my two sisters and stepmother booked a hotel room for two nights. So did one of our other cousins and his wife who live in a country town. Most of auntie’s descendants live close to her, so our forty-eight hours was a waving tide of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And it was a lot of fun.

First up, a lunch for fourteen at Contentious Character, a cool-climate winery just north of Canberra. Sitting at the far end of the table, Bill and I caught up with a first cousin once removed that we hadn’t seen for twenty years. We got on so well with he and his wife (his teenage son didn’t get a word in – but he probably preferred that) that by the end of the afternoon, we had everyone at the other end wondering what was going on.

Here’s a few photos, starting with the outside scenery:

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My glamorous visiting cousin playing up to the camera

My sisters and I in more conservative mode

Two sisters from a generation up, My auntie and stepmum:

Table chaos

Whoever was listening when the call went out for a group shot.

And finally, Bill demonstrating his great capacity for patience … he’s squinting into the sun, not saying – are we leaving yet? Although, come to think of it, I have seen that expression on his face before …

Perhaps one of the secrets to her longevity is my auntie’s great love of poker (slot) machines, so after booking into our hotel, and a short rest, it was off to a club for a light dinner and amusement, before starting all over again the next day.