Modern Version of an Old Classic

It’s my first “official” Bossy Italian Wife [BIW] post, so I thought we could take a moment to get to know one another. I’m Billie, a nearly 26 year old wife and freelance writer who enjoys cooking, bloody marys, and hanging out with my pets. I have been blogging for a year and a half in various capacities while I finish my second book (which will actually be the first book I’m going to publish.)

I have also been working at various newspapers during that time, and I even landed my own column this summer at Beach Paper, called Beach Beat. It’s a great gig that has also been fabulous fun.

Back to why we’re here: my newest creation, Bossy Italian Wife. You might be asking yourself, why bossy? Well, ya know, it’s one of those phrases that gets tossed around a lot, particularly at women who embrace their liberty in the work place (or virtually anywhere else in life). When people are trying to be positive about this attribute, they say things like, “You really know what you want in life and how to get it.”  Yep, I sure do!

That’s why I am embracing my bossy-hood-ness as part of my image. Some people will see this as a good thing (and given that you are still reading this post, you are likely to be one of them, and thanks, by the way!)

Now for the Italian part, I am also Italian. I am Sicilian on both sides of my heritage. This is another one of those things that gets thrown around to be negative (yes, even in our modern times, and can I also say, yea, I can’t believe it, either!). And how ironic is it that people also associate being bossy with being Italian? This is why I consider myself a modern version of an old classic: the bossy Italian wife paradigm... you see where I’m heading?

Italian women are known for their ability to be the neck of the family. You know, the men are the head, and they think that they are, in fact, running things. But the women, they are the neck, and the neck can turn the head any way she wants to. Also, Italian women are loud and they are proud. We are a bit of a brutish sort in the classical sense of the word... we are quick to speak up if we do not like something, but we are also very loyal.

Like my grandmother, for instance. She is a very Italian woman--always ready to feed you, and likely to scold you for something. Loving and swift--all in the same lady. Then there’s my mother, always ready to give you something or help you in some way, but also to give you advice you didn’t even know you didn’t want to hear. And then there’s me: always ready to feed you and probably to give you some advice that I think you ought to heed.

I am a classically bossy Italian wife, and I am proud of it. I am on a journey of love and marriage with my husband, as well as my own personal journey of being a writer, and then there’s my hobby of cooking, of which I am passionate. These things have now rolled into one spectacular place for the world to see on BIW. I hope that you will enjoy my posts, recipes, advice, and more as I explore food, marriage, and everything in between!!!