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Friday, April 29, 2016

A bit about our Sydney Trip...

We crammed a fair bit into our week, which suggests a series of posts doesn't it? But not in chronological order as I'm just 'itching' to write a post about what was the highlight of our trip...the day I met my 'new' cousins and their respective spouses. My cousin Lucy hosted a lunch at her home.
So, with the introductions over we all sat down. 
I had a little jewellery pouch in my handbag containing some special items that I brought with me from Brisbane. My plan was that I would show the contents to my cousins after we had had lunch. But I was so eager to show them these items that within half an hour I had taken them out of the pouch and unwrapped the tissue paper parcel...
Here are some close up photos of the items. I'd taken the photos at home.
Nothing special perhaps at first glance, except these had  belonged to my Sicilian grandmother. She had died in the early 1900s when my father was very young, and my mother had found these items in my father's belongings after he died. 
The rings show that my grandmother ( my cousins' great grandmother) was a woman with large hands/fingers. The rings are also very thin...from wear.
The ring resting on my right thumb has always been my favourite piece of Nonna's jewellery.
I wore it at my first wedding as my 'something old' ( probably over 100 years old in the 1970s) as did both my daughters. It's that ring on my middle finger, right hand in the next photo. ( even on my middle finger it was still too big and kept slipping around my finger! Lol)
Ann, my cousin's wife, also took photos of Lucy and I checking out the earrings and rings...
Last month I had made the decision that I would keep that one ring and give the other items to my cousins...I just knew it was the right thing to do and I know the items will be treasured. 
After that we all sat down to a delicious lunch...my cousin Lucy and her husband put on quite a spread! 

During the afternoon we checked out our Ancestry.com.au family trees...Frank and Lucy on a laptop and me with my well travelled iPad. 
We also looked at family photos...I had missed out on seeing my cousins and their siblings grow up so it was wonderful to see all those photos.

No longer strangers...we all felt so comfortable in each other's company; as though we'd known each other all our lives.
And my wonderful and generous cousins also gave me some ID documents that had belonged to their uncle...another nephew of my father's. I 'see my father' when he was a young man in these photos...very special.


What a wonderful day! . 

7 comments:

Janice said...

This is my favourite sort of story. Congratulations on finding your new cousins. It is fabulous isn't it to find family, and then to be able to make contact with them. I have never got over meeting my Australian and New Zealand cousins. They are now very important parts of my life. One of my Aussie cousins has just let me know she is making the trip to England and to France to meet up with me again next year. ( I spent a couple of days with her the last time we were in Melbourne.... and I'm starting to think it will soon be time for another trip )
The rings and their story are fabulous. What a lovely gesture to share these treasures with your new family. I'm sure you are right...they will be treasured by whichever branch of your family holds them in trust for the next generation. Lots of love Jx

Lin said...

What a lovely occasion Maria. Beautiful family jewellery and so generous of you to pass it on. xx

Cynthia said...

What a wonderful story! Fun to see your wedding photo. You were a beautiful bride!
It's really neat that you have (or had) the jewelry from your grandmother, something you can touch and hold, and that you shared the items with your cousins. I have both my grandmothers' wedding rings and I cherish them as the rings were on hands that were so precious to me.

Nanna Chel said...

What a lovely post, Maria. My husband is from Malta and I was given some of his mother's jewellery when she died. It is in a similiar vein to yours. So nice of you to share with your cousins. I hope that leg is healing.

angela said...

Want a fantastic story and what a wonderful day you had.

margaret said...

how wonderful not just to meet with these relatives but to find you all got on so well together and will now be in regular contact. So kind to share the jewellery and I know it will be treasured. Families are not close like they used to be so enjoy this great new family you have now.

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

This is a lovely post. So nice that you would share heirlooms with each other. I have very few treasures from my ancestors and hate that I have very little of them to pass on to my daughter and grandsons.

Hope your leg is healing nicely.
xx, Carol