I was raised around my large Austrian family. My grandfather and his four siblings immigrated to the United States after WWII and after many crazy adventures opened up a bakery together in Oakland. I have so many wonderful memories of family dinners and hearing the tales of our family history.
My cousin Maria is someone I've always admired, I remember loving her style and curly hair. Her father Erich, was my grandfather's youngest brother and the artist of the family. I have one of his collage paintings that Maria gave me years ago in my house, people always comment on it. It's Uncle Erich's take on the famous Klimt piece, "The Lovers".
Maria has two girls, Mia and Ellie, who are now beautiful young women and the oldest is graduating high school via a drive through ceremony today. Last weekend I went to their backyard with a long lens and we were able to do some social distance graduation and family photos. It was really nice hearing a teenage perspective of the pandemic and seeing my cousin and her family (even from a distance).
Mia, Class of 2020