On Sicilian friends who love us.

I have to share a special incident from last weekend that touched my heart. I had decided long ago that when I turned 60 I would have a huge party with many people there. But...when the time grew close and I thought of who to invite, the only people that came to mind were Giusseppe and Mimma. So instead of the big party we invited our neighbors to have dinner with us after church.

Because they are older and it's more difficult for them to get around, Giusseppe and Mimma don't often attend church on Sunday morning. Every Sunday, though, I hear their television tuned to a station with a church service whether they have company or not.

Palm Sunday is a very important time for the Italians and a day not to miss the service for the blessings of the time of Easter. Guisseppe came over that morning to ask if we would like to go and I wanted so much to say yes. But I had important things going on at my church and really couldn't miss.

When they came over to eat in the afternoon Mimma brought me a large palm branch tied to an olive branch with a piece of ribbon. She told me she had gotten one for each of her children (Antonia, Mariella, and Roberto) and one for me. What a privilege to be considered important by such a gracious lady.

I never want to leave our wonderful Italian friends.