celebrating claudia

this afternoon we went to the uppsla cathedral and in the sacred quiet of this gothic church i lit a candle for my beloved cousin claudia who passed away this week after a nine year battle with breast cancer. it was an indulgent, however brief moment of mourning. today her family and friends are gathering not to mourn, as she insisted, but to celebrate her life amid loved ones and the ballads of rick springfield. although we're on the other side of the world, we too are celebrating claudia--and really, if any one had the blessing to know her (even if only long enough to see her smile) how could you not? she was a vivacious, beautiful, funny and courageous woman. last week her daughter asked that we contribute to a "why we love claudia" memory book--i don't know if she had the chance to read the contributions before she left us so in the spirit of celebration (and because i know she will continue to bless us) i'll share ours:

We love Claudia because she has always celebrated family and friends and shown us how important it is to be surrounded by loved ones. We love Claudia because when she was in California she would call and ask: "Do you want to meet us at the beach in 15 minutes?" and of course we would always say yes (the books, the laundry, the other appointments could always be rescheduled!); likewise if we were within driving distance she'd gather up the family and meet us for lettuce wraps or coffee or cheesecake. . . We love Claudia because she puts the cool, the celebrate, the courageous in cousin; we love Claudia and always will.

here are a couple of the pictures my dad found looking through our albums--i think they capture the cardinale cousins at our best!

l-r cassie, jim, me, vince, amanda, claudia, ginny, sal (mary rose wasn't here yet!)

the cardinale girls-- singing and signing " young at heart" for grandma and grandpa's wedding anniversary (weren't we all so hot!): mary rose, amanda, ginny, claudia, cassie, me



Claudia Claudio Memorial Fund