All American Peanut

B. Cardarelli photography

Our Peanut. She's actually turning two. Hard to believe. But when you ask her: "Hey Lia, how old are you?" she convincingly answers: "Two!" and shows her hand with all five fingers. So there's no question. Our baby nut has become a big girl! In less than two weeks we are leaving the country, and it will be especially hard to deracinate our American girl from her home. Darn it, she has just started to talk in English and surprises us every day with new words and tiny sentences. She knows that a football is thrown and not kicked, naturally. She greets her friends with a high five followed by a fist and bids them farewell with a friendly "Bye! See you!" She can count from 'one' to 'fee', she's impressed by anything with four wheels: "Look! Biiig truck!", and her favorite animal is the "f(r)og". She's friendly to everyone, though only special people get a "hug". New words usually pop up when we are driving in "Papi('s) car" and she is talking to herself or her fellow stuffed travelers. Just two days ago she was chanting Kindermusik songs from the backseat: "Listen! Listen!" And she knows all the important opposites in English, like "up" and "down", "loooud!!!" and "pth, quiet!", "looooong" and "sho(r)t", and not to forget "f(r)ont" and "back". She knows to touch her "nose" and has learned to scold her mom by saying "Don't touch!" with the most serious of expressions. Anything exciting appeals to our beautiful and nutty daughter, who loves to "jum(p)" and is neither shy nor afraid of new challenges. Her hunger for life in general and for "more cookies" in particular is insatiable. So we will all try and face the new adventure Lia-style! Someone who is turning two has no problem moving from one country to another, especially not when you have dual citizenship! What are opposites other than two parts of a whole? What's yin without yang? No doubt there are lots of things Peanut will miss dearly, first and foremost Lorenzo, the love of her life, but Yin will make sure to stay in touch and in sync with her other half. One shell, two nuts. Always.