Richard and Sheila Reighard

Edda McManus

Marlene Rivera

Tommy and Ruthie

Lilly Raquel Hill

Maria Dominicci

Becca Hill

Nina Rachel Simone

Stricklands

Anonymous

Elizabeth Dominicci Bowman

Everything We Needed To Know We Learned From Baba and Bobo

This tribute is for our amazing grandmother, Raquel Dominicci, or "Baba" as we all know her.
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It was written somewhere that children regard Grandparents in a similar way to how they regard God. Parents are parents. They are constant and familiar and extensions of ourselves. But Grandparents are different. They are otherworldly, wise and benevolent. We think of them as being as old as the dinosaurs, their stories are ones of times long since passed.

All of this is true of our Baba and Bobo but with so much more. Our "Abuelos" though otherworldly, wise and benevolent, have been as constant and present in our lives as their personalities are real and vibrant. You have taught us Spanish and how to dance the salsa, you've built sandcastles with us, fed us countless meals and traveled with us to the ends of the earth. You've applauded each and every graduation, danced at every wedding, and celebrated the birth of every child. You've never stopped reminding us how beautiful we are and how proud you are of us.

And in doing so you have imbedded in us an understanding of identity that we could never have learned from a book. You have taught us that we are part of something larger than ourselves - a family, a community, a country and a world. You've taught us to embrace our families with open arms, to give of ourselves entirely, and to always make extra room at the table.

We are a crazy bunch. It is true that we probably all eat too much and talk too much - we learned this from you. We also all have very high opinions - of our own opinions. Yes, that's from you too. We laugh loud and long and dance enthusiastically - if not well. We put lots of salt on the tostones, let them fill our stomachs, and then start dinner. And we think its totally normal to have a slaughtered pig on a skewer in the middle of a reception hall.

We have learned so much from you that we wanted to share some of these lessons with you. It's our way of saying "Thank you" - for being who you are and shaping who we are becoming. Because our parents are great, but really, "Everything We Needed To Know We Learned From Baba and Bobo..."