I remember coming home from grade school and smelling the homemade spaghetti sauce that had been simmering on the stove all day before, I even came through the back door. It was a mix of Italian herbs and spices and yummy tomatoes my family had canned all summer. We had a big root cellar, and if you needed anything like that you went to basement to get it, not out to the store. Whatever herbs you needed, you just went out the back door, where there was a small rock garden where herbs grew in abundance.

I remember asking my Italian Grandma Anna if I could write down her homemade ravioli recipe while she made it for Christmas dinner. She said of course I could. I had no idea how hard it was going to be to write it down. She said things like a "pinch of nutmeg," "a light dusting of flour" and the "eggs go in the well of the flour on the wooden board." She had a long thin rolling pin that was probably three feet long, and she rolled the dough so thin that it looked like paper and covered the whole board. She proceeded to fill it with a ricotta mixture which had a bit of the "zest of a lemon" in it, and used a small pinwheel-shaped cutter and a fork to seal the edges.

I was mesmerized. The raviolis sat under white cloths, and when the water boiled, they cooked in minutes. She told me that she knew they were done when they floated to the top. I was immediately hooked. It tasted like nothing I had ever tasted before. She had this way with food and being in the kitchen, she moved easily. I loved being in there with her.

My Grandma Anna lived in an apartment attached to our house after her husband passed away. I was a lucky girl that I got to be with her. She taught me to be kind and gentle, to take time for things that mattered, and to love your family no matter what came your way.

My Grandma Anna and I regularly tasted everything together when we were cooking. You had to, she said, it was how you knew if it was right.

Everyday my Grandma would exercise. My Dad told her she had to. I can still see her out walking up the long hill to Robin Court, strolling along and talking to all the neighbors. She was determined to live well so she could be with all of her children and grandchildren. She loved when they all came over to visit. Her family was the highlight of her life. She never drove, she never complained, she just did whatever she could for everyone she knew.

For some reason she's been on my mind lately. Maybe because I feel like part of her lives on in me, and I see glimpses of her in my sons, whom she never knew. I'm not sure, but I'm so thankful for her and the tenderness she shared with me.

During a particularly difficult time for me in middle school, she would sit on the bench on our front porch and wait for me to walk down the street to our house. She would always have homemade pizzelles or Italian cookies for me. She would ask about my day and how I was doing in school. She must have known when I was struggling with something at school, but she never pressed. She just stayed close to me and loved me. She made me know I was OK. No matter what else was going on in my life, she believed in me.

When I became a physical therapist, she was so proud of me. She had come to the United States when she was 8 years old, and she only went to the eighth grade in school. "That's the way it was done then," she told me. "Girls did other things, like get married and have a family." She told me she knew I could do whatever I set my mind too.

In my physical therapy practice, I see people everyday that have been shaped and influenced, either positively or negatively, by their family. It amazes me how the words that others say to us, sway us. I just want you to know that all of us have hard things we battle when it comes to our health, whether it's our weight, our genetic high blood pressure or our upside down hormones. It takes diligence and determination to stay healthy and well; mind, body and soul. Please don't give up, and only remember the good words about you and let the others roll off your back. You are the only you we will ever get to meet, so love that person and all the good that's in you. And take care of your health: it's your best asset.

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Sheree DiBiase, PT, is the owner of Lake City Physical Therapy, and she and her staff would love to help you take care of your health. You can reach us in our Hayden office at (208) 762-2100, in our Coeur d'Alene office at (208) 667-1988, or in our Spokane Valley office at (509) 891-2623.