As part of my Mother’s Day celebration earlier this week, I was gifted about an hour of “rest time.” While my husband and kids ordered me to relax while they cooked me a nice breakfast, I found myself clicking play on one of Netflix’s newest offerings, “Nonnas.”
Nonnas is based on the true story of Staten Island’s famed Enoteca Maria Italian restaurant which hires “real life Nonnas” instead of career chefs. Grandmothers cook the recipes handed down for generations just as they would cook for their own families at home.
(Note: This isn’t a review of Nonnas. For that, I refer you to the professional critics at Rotten Tomatoes. But this amateur movie reviewer gives it 5 stars.)
I tuned in to see if Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon, and a star-studded cast could conjure some warm fuzzy memories of my own Italian great-grandmother, grandmother, and aunts. While there were those moments, the film had a stronger message: older people have a lot to give the world and it’s never too late to change your path.
The film’s main character, a New York Public Works mechanic grieving the loss of his mother, starts anew in the restaurant business. And the “Nonnas” are women who are starting over in their own ways: one beat breast cancer, another left a convent, and one become a widow. They each have unique talents and wisdom to offer in this stage of life. The common themes are “food is love” and “the only thing that you’re going to regret are the moments that you did not take.”
Working for an organization that deeply values the contributions of older adults, it was refreshing to learn about the real-life restaurant employing older adults. I’ve added it to my must-visit list.
As we join the Administration for Community Living in observing Older Americans Month and celebrating older adults’ contributions to our culture and reaffirming the Alliance’s commitment to help all to achieve health aging, I encourage you to reflect on the lessons, recipes, and traditions carried down from previous generations.
Katie Riley serves as Vice President of Communications at the Alliance for Aging Research.
