Lucia Madre

My friend Lucia I met in Okinawa, Japan 7 years ago. We weren't close in the conventional sense, we didn't do the daily gossip, go shopping, get our nails done (yes, a big deal in Okinawa!). In some ways we were quite different. She was a new mom and I was newly married with no children. Her days were spent with other moms, doing mom/kid stuff like play group visits to fire stations and baby sitter coops. You know how mysterious it can all seem when you aren't a mother! And my days? Most likely they were being spent behind my sewing machine, stitching up hand bags from tattered kimonos and obis to be sold on base.

But in between Lucia and I did connect. We shared an interest, a deep interest in the island and its' people, mostly the arts. Okinawa has fantastic pottery and textile guilds. It was always a joy to talk to Lucia, compare notes and share new discoveries. I fondly recall the baby shower a group of girls gave me at Lucia's home. Looking back now it seems very right that this talented, caring, and creative woman was part of my transition into motherhood.

Lucia Madre, I captured this photo in the port of Procida (an island off the coast of Naples) last summer with her in mind. At the time we were preparing to leave Italy for the US and Lucia and her family were leaving the US for a new life in Sicily. Lucia's blog, Dim Sum, Bagels, and Crawfish is a refreshing dose of family life interwoven with personal discoveries and travel adventure. It has been such pleasure reliving our island days through Lucia's words and photography (fantastic photography!). If you haven't done so already, please stop by and say "Ciao!"