by Dennis Augustine
This Thanksgiving, my heart turns to the loved ones who were part of, or shaped my life but are no longer with us.
I’m remembering my mom Maria (2013), my dad Frank (2017), my brother Michael (2019), my niece and Goddaughter Selina (2023), and my Uncle (Zio) Lillo from Sicily (2025) at the age if 92. I also hold close the memories of my earlier uncles—Anthony, Joseph, Carmine, Eddy, and Nino, Aunt Mary, Aunt (Zia) Cettina, Nona Giuseppa, Nono Concetto (my Sicilian relatives)—whose presence lives on in our family stories. I aso included a photo of my-brother in-law's late mom, Sally McAllister with Cecile and my mom, my late inlaws, Margie and Harry Weiner.
Holidays bring both warmth and a quiet ache. Today I give thanks for their lives, their love, and the imprint they’ve left on all of us.
The late Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk, world peacemaker, meditation teacher, and writer of matters of the spirit, wrote: “If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, and within the depths of your heart, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body, mind, and spirit. You are the continuation of each of these people.”
May their memories be a blessing on this Thanksgiving and always.
