Prima Amica - Lila

Lila A good friend and Lisa

My first named friend in Piegaro Italy was Lila, I was blessed with many friends in Piegaro, but Lila was the first to call me "Amica."  In context we were at the caffe where Lila works, just chatting away and someone asked if I was her mother.  Lila patted my shoulder and said, "No, es mi amica Lisa!"  Lila is a beautiful, young, vivacious girl who spoke English, one of few in the village, what a breath of fresh air.  For all the great fun I had trying to communicate with my Italian friends, it was nice to have evenings of conversation and fun with Lila.  I had a little too much fun at times, using my normal slang, song lyric and movie references, talking very quickly..."piano, piccolo" Lila would say, as she asked me to slow down and use my little words.  Lila was so dear to introduce me to her mother, Ina.  Ina too is beautiful and it was great to chat with her and Colleen about motherhood and being an immigrant to this  community.
One of the treasures of getting to know Lila was that she is the age of my children, and it was nice to have a little surrogate in Piegaro, with all the sass and craziness of a teenager I have grown so fond of in my life and missed being away from my own kids.  It was a comfort to hear her stories of hating school, of her boyfriend (now fiancee) , of her horse and her struggles as a daughter with her mother, so much of life is universal in our world :-)
It is always a gift to have friends, and nothing could have warmed my heart more than being called friend by Lila.  In our lives we often put such an emphasis on romance or finding "the one" - but there is a special grace in making friends wherever we go.  There is a sacred place in knowing the true treasure in opening ourselves to friendships and seeing the grace of love in the people we meet.  It was in sharing stories with Lila that I realized how much my heart desired to speak Italian so I could share as much with all my new found friends, it deepens to speak directly without a translator, and certainly without that dog of a tool, google translator.  I often laugh when using that tool to translate the messages of my Italian friends on facebook now and realize how goofy the translations are.  It is much more magical to speak and share in person.
I look forward to seeing dear Lila again, my friend, mi amica, who is the reflection of my beautiful daughter and young friends here.  It begs the question, how can we see connections to those and what make our heart sings no matter where we are??  How do we allow friendship to flourish in unsuspected places and open our hearts to all the love that friendship offers??? How do we take our hospitality out to all who cross our paths, to speak slowly and intentionally for the blossoming of beautiful relationships?   Friends like Lila are truly a gift from God - a gift I get to continue to enjoy via facebook and when I return again to my beloved Piegaro.


Lila and Mom, Ina

Beautiful friends