My "Where I'm From" Assignment

Where I'm From

I am from ironing boards and Lysol and Walkmans.

I am from a grey house with two stories that often smells like garlic and wine.

I am the blackberries, rhododendrens, and cedar bark, Douglas Firs, foxglove, and grey skies.

I am from not giving anyone in the house a fork and stubbornness from Reba Lou and Maria and Guiseppe.

I am from loyalty and spite.

From "You're going to get a spankin" and "Balardo."

I am from the Catholic Church and the Baptist Church. I am from the fighting that ensues when a good Catholic girl marries a Baptist in Reno.

I'm from California, Scotland, Ireland, and Italy, from ravioli, potatoes drizzled with olive oil, and torta.

(I am, by choice, not from Haggis.)

From the story about things Guiseppe threw when he lost his temper, like tomatoes and shoes, the obsessive cleanliness of my mother, and from Grandma Reba's bad knees and ankles.

I am from the Space Needle, my white file drawer, the pics file on my computer, and the graveyard in Suisun, California.