Rainbows for Charlie

I haven’t mentioned yet that we have family in Italy. Our son-in-law Ben is a navy Lt Commander stationed in Naples, so he, our daughter Ashley, and four-year-old grandson Charlie have been there since late last summer. We visited them shortly after they relocated for our very first trip to Europe and came home in early November. All was well until Covid-19 hit Italy with a vengeance, taking thousands of lives, decimating the Italian economy and putting three people we love very much in danger. What followed once the Italian government got tough was over sixty days of complete lockdown. Our son-in-law went to the base only a few days a week, but he was out of the house, which was scary. He, of course, was the official hunter and gatherer for the family’s food. Every day we would check in on the numbers and reports out of Italy, and those reports were dismal, indeed. FaceTime calls were numerous, and as parents we lived in fear for our kids, not just that they might get the virus, but that their lives had taken such a claustrophobic, strange, and frightening turn.

In the midst of all this, and just as things were starting to affect us here at home, we were hearing that rainbows were becoming very symbolic in Naples. The USO in Naples was encouraging children to make posters using rainbows to try to keep people’s morale up. Charlie participated in that effort. We learned that ‘andra tutto bene’ (everything will be okay) were the words to live by. My daughter Katie here in town helped me make a bracelet representing Italy and rainbows and her sister in Italy, and I wore the bracelet for a lot of tapings. It brought me comfort. This all prompted me to do an episode of GG Sprinkles on rainbows, and I pulled out a ton of stuff I had around the house that somehow dealt with rainbows. I used to sing a song to Cooper when I was nannying called “I Can Sing a Rainbow,” and I decided to use it in the episode. I’m not a singer, but I decided that was okay, that the heart was the important thing. So I downloaded the karaoke version and at the end of the episode, you can pretty much tell that I’m having trouble keeping it together (and even after I practiced all that day in hopes that I WOULD keep it together).

So the rainbows were for everyone, but I was singing for Charlie who hadn’t left his house or yard in weeks and still had weeks to go. I think it was the next day that, when Ben stepped out onto their balcony and looked toward the ocean, he saw the most incredible rainbow stretched across the water. It brought Naples comfort and it brought comfort to a very worried GG here in the States who sang badly (but with heart!) and who was struggling to understand how all of this could be happening to beautiful Italy and her children. But it also made me want to bring rainbows into the lives of any little ones who might tune in to that episode of GG Sprinkles. And I certainly had rainbows to spare in my family room. I hope I succeeded. ❤️