CHRISTMAS & CHRISTMAS EVE ("BUON NATALE")

Day 3 of 25 DAYS OF HUGGING :

By October 22nd each year, exactly 63 days from Christmas Eve, Christina was hard at work planning for the 25 Days of Christmas and of course Christmas Eve.  Christmas was Christina, and Christina embodied the spirit of Christmas.  A time of rebirth, a time for family, a time to be thankful and hopeful.  

All the messages of Christmas lived in Christina all year, and Christmas/Christmas Eve were the culmination of her year and her principles. 

Christmas Eve in an Italian family is a huge event: the Feast of the Seven Fishes, the extended family gathering, the preparation, and of course the celebration.  After we got married, Christina wasted little time in claiming Christmas Eve for our families, and the party was some 30+ people in the Carinato and Pierorazio families, as she melded two families into one. 

Of course, your first and most important gift on Christmas Eve when you walked in our house was a giant hug and welcome from her.  First time attendees quickly shed “visitor” status, and if that new person was an infant, well Christina had an assistant for the evening whom she loathed to surrender back to parents.  She moved from person to person and spent time with each, celebrating their attendance at her party.  

Christmas Day was then for celebrating her family, for simple smiles and huge hugs.  Even though Christina might be cleaning until well after 2 AM on Christmas morning, she was the first one up every year, usually waking me up before 6 AM so we would see our children’s faces as they walked out of their rooms on Christmas morning.   

Yes, before you ask, of course Christina watched “Christmas in Summer” on The Hallmark Channel.  It wasn’t about the movies; it was about recharging her batteries and getting ready
for that next hug.

If only we could view Christmas and the never-ending Christmas spirit the way Christina did…

Please consider a donation to the charity at www.celebratingchristina.org/donate.

One day, one goal, one big hug at a time.

HUGS & LAUGHTER, THE ELIXER OF LIFE

Day 4 of 25 DAYS OF HUGGING:

There’s just no way to truly explain what hugs and laughter meant to Christina or how much those hugs and laughs could heal all the recipient’s pain, but if you are lucky enough to experience it from someone like Christina you know immediately of that which I speak. 

The teacher and the pupil….

In the good times and the bad, there was always a place for hugs, smiles and laughter, for better or for worse.  Early on I learned the power of those hugs, but to my chagrin I have not yet mastered the art.  Christina would tell me how to do it when she wanted a hug, but I have never quite found the secret without her there to coach me.

Even in her toughest moments, she would tell each of us to come close and hug her and she would still be able to give that squeeze.  And she would still smile, and she would laugh, even if we couldn’t.

Christina had different hugs: hugs for sympathy and care, hugs for well-being, hugs for hello, and best of all hugs “just because.”  We try to take away those lessons and memories around our house since we lost Christina, trying to get better every day and trying to be as impactful as she was.  We are getting better, but we can do more....

Please consider a donation to the charity at www.celebratingchristina.org/donate.

One day, one goal, one big hug at a time.

WESTERN SPRINGS & FOREST HILLS

Day 10 of 25 DAYS OF HUGGING:

As Christina often said, she moved her family to Western Springs in 2008, and it was the “best decision (she) ever made!”  Within days of moving in, she had met her neighbors Donna and John (yes, the same names as her children) who of course went to Queen of Peace and St. Laurence; shortly after, she met other kindred spirits originally from the Garfield Ridge and Clearing neighborhoods in Chicago; and of course she met her friend Antella who came from a very old-world family just like her— just Greek instead of Italian. 

With every person Christina met, there was a new bond, a new person to hug, a new friend to
share hugs, smiles, and joy.

Christina, Donna & Antella

Principal Dan Chick addressing the 2014 McClure graduation (John’s graduation)

St. John of the Cross became our new home to worship and celebrate, and to make new friends and share new hugs. Father Dave, Father Joe, Father Dario and Father Bill were homilists whose words of peace and spirituality resonated so profoundly and perfectly with Christina, and Father Bill was there to pray with Christina and her family in those final days. Of course, Father Bill delivered another incredible homily at Christina’s Celebration of Life Mass.

Christina loved the rural feel of walking to Forest Hills Grade School and McClure Middle School, often commenting how at least SHE understood and appreciated the jokes of her friend, McClure Principal Mr. Dan Chick; when they hugged at that basketball game in the fall of 2016, you weren’t sure he would be able to breathe again.  When Christina got very sick, the mothers of Forest Hills and McClure sent her a huge gift box of books, teas, inspirational cards, socks, and a blanket; that blanket sits today right where she kept it on the chair in our bedroom, “the blanket from my girlfriends” as she called it. Get a hug from one of those ladies and you will have a sense of what Christina’s hugs were like. 

And remember to give them all a hug, because we are all truly blessed by the wonderful people who surround us in this small community.

Please consider a donation to the charity at www.celebratingchristina.org/donate.

One day, one goal, one big hug at a time.

NIECES & NEPHEWS

Day 11 of 25 DAYS OF HUGGING:

Christina has nine nieces and nephews: Samantha, Ben, Maria, Jennifer, Joey, Anthony, Nathan, Elena, and Emmie.  And they are the apples of her eye.  When she was with them, she always made time to listen to them, to hug them, and to support them. Every adult in the room disappeared when she was with them. It didn’t matter the occasion, she was there to be with them: their very own “Auntie Chris Party”.

Christina lives on in them, and certainly watches over them all.  She celebrates with us their successes, and surely sends a hug they may not even realize they are getting during the tough times, like during this pandemic.   Her wish for every one of them has always been that they find their calling and happiness in life, just as she had found in her family and community.  Every time we hug one of them, you just can’t help but feeling an extra set of arms making sure everyone is squeezing tight enough!

Hopefully we all enjoy the kind of special relationships Christina carved out with her nieces and nephews; it wasn’t a job for her, it was a privilege. One last thing: Don’t stop guys, Auntie Chris is always watching and cheering you on! And she has charged you with carrying on her mission, one hug at a time!

Please consider a donation to the charity at www.celebratingchristina.org/donate.

One day, one goal, one big hug at a time.

CHILDREN & LURIE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

Day 16 of 25 DAYS OF HUGGING:

In keeping with her passion for children, Christina of course got us involved at Children’s Memorial Hospital and then Lurie Children’s Hospital at Northwestern. 

If Christina didn’t understand one thing, it was why children have to suffer.  

Children’s Memorial and then Lurie Children’s became one of our annual donations, enough so that when Christina passed away her name was etched on the benefactor’s wall at the hospital.

John and Donna at the 2017 Donor’s Ceremony

Christina pained for children who suffered, but she always loved to celebrate the successes of Lurie Children’s Hospital.  This was another way to teach her children compassion, along with gratitude for the blessings we have. 

For more information about Lurie Children’s Hospital and the amazing work they do, please see: www.luriechildrens.org/en/

Please consider a donation to the charity at www.celebratingchristina.org/donate.

One day, one goal, one big hug at a time.

PARTY GIRL

Day 21 of 25 DAYS OF HUGGING:

Something imbedded in the DNA of every Italian is a party. When I asked Christina’s dad if I could marry his daughter, he never actually said yes, but instead asked, “When should we have a little engagement party?”  I took that as his approval.

Christina loved a party; she loved hosting them and she loved being at them.  It was her chance to see people, to hug people, to laugh and to smile.  It could be as simple as Sunday Pasta Diner (that’s good for a dozen people minimum in our family) or a 500-person wedding; it didn’t matter.  If one of us was not up for being at a party, that would not cut it with Christina.  “We have people to see, you get that scowl off your face right now.”  

It wasn’t about networking or face time or any of those catch phrases we like to use in life, it was about time with others, taking their warmth and love while spreading hers and squeezing the daylights out of you. 

It was simple and honest, and worth immeasurable value.  

That smile that lit up a room was the best decoration any party ever had.  It’s up to us to remember that and keep it going.  2020 has been a year where we have all realized how much we miss social interaction; here’s hoping that when we get it back soon, we will be more like Christina and bring the gift of warmth, AND HUGS, and smiles to such special events!

In the meantime please consider a donation to CCCF: www.celebratingchristina.org/donate

One day, one goal, one hug.