Xan Young

Julie was the mom of the boy I fell for in high school, so she already had a lot going for her.  Nonetheless, I came claws out - ready to judge first before being judged.   Where I tried to push people away she drew people in - it was a mode I didn't yet realize was available.  She taught me that M&Ms were a food group and that warmth was not weakness but its opposite.  A mother of sons, her unabashed adoration of her kids has stuck with me.  She knew how to raise sensitive creatures.  

From a family trip to New York she let me tag along on - to a neighborhood that now years later is my home -  I learned key lessons: wearing black is a thing it's not just a color, metrocards are cool, walking everywhere is even cooler.  

The Mancini/Bromka house is still the house I want to have when I grow up.  The kind of house I felt comfortable showing up at uninvited for years.  Even now.  Julie was always busy doing her own thing and may engage for 5 minutes or maybe an hour but without fail manages to convey she's happy you're there sitting in the living room.  Damn I miss that smile.