Cara Mamma,

Cara Mamma,

Avevi ragione. You were right.

About just about everything, almost.

You were right about the friends of mine you didn't trust.

"I don't like her," you'd say, having had just a brief exchange with one of my friends from the dorms in college. I'd roll my eyes. "You barely even met her! You don't know her!" But you were right. Your intuition was rarely wrong.

You were right about my first boyfriend when you told me I should stop seeing him. Mamma, you had to know you can't stop an 18-year-old from being with her "first love"! Your parents couldn't stop you, either when you wanted to get married and move to the United States for your love, even if it didn't work out. They were probably right, too. But we don't listen to our mothers in these situations. We only see that they were right in hindsight.

You told me he wasn't good for me, and of course, I didn't listen. But you were right. Your intuition was right again.

Time and time again you were right.

You were right about roommates, friends, coworkers, and jobs.

Maybe there's something about being a parent that sharpens your intuition. Maybe it comes with age and life experience. You were right a lot of the time, and I didn't realize that until recently when I started to listen to my gut and my intuition more. Even if I don't know why, when my gut says "this isn't right," I listen now. 9 times out of 10 I've been right. 9 times out of 10, you were right. I'll take those odds.

You weren't a perfect parent, of course, but you did a lot of things right. And you were right, a lot of times, when I didn't think you were.

I'm stubborn, I got that from you, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise when I didn't listen to you, just as you didn't listen to your mother, and she didn't listen to hers. There's a long line of intuitive women in our family. I am one of them. I learned to listen to my gut from you, as you learned from Nonna.

There's a little witchiness to intuition, too.

Nonna had a little bit of witchiness, you always said. She always knew what was going to happen. She was usually right.

You have a little bit of witchiness too, and so do I. We are witches, streghe. Our intuition is usually right. I just had to turn the volume up and start listening.

Maybe women just know. We are right, 9 times out of 10. I'll take those odds.

I was sitting down to lunch today, having just placed my order, when you texted me, "mangia!"

I chuckled. "Sei una strega," I texted back. You're a witch, I'm about to eat now.

Witchy women have witchy women who have witchy women.

My grandmother taught my mother to hone her intuition. My mother taught me.

She listened to her gut, even when she didn't quite know why. She knew after a short interaction with my friends from college which of them was bad news, and she was right. She was right about my first boyfriend almost immediately. Sometimes we don't know why something isn't right, but our gut knows something we don't. It picks up on something we don't see, like Spidey senses.

I come from a long line of women who listen to their guts. Who learn to leave when things aren't right. Who stand up for themselves. Thank you, Mamma, for showing me how to do that.

Cara Mamma, thank you. You were right.

Cara Mamma, grazie. Avevi ragione.