Casa Fin Family Stories: Daniela's Life Story - Daniela Mitchell (née Fin)
  As “number 6”
and the last of the
Fin girls, I certainly had a lot to learn from all my sisters! You see,
I was different
to my sisters and brothers. Both Mum and Dad were faced
with a huge decision once they found out Mum had contracted rubella
(German measles) in her third month of pregnancy. This decision was
whether to terminate me or keep me. Of course, they decided to keep me
and their decision was the best thing. When I was born, the Doctors
confirmed that I was healthy and normal. But Mum was convinced that I
was different to all her first 5 daughters. Mum had a lot of trouble
finding the right Doctor to confirm that I was Deaf!   This brought about many changes
in the family. They were advised by the
specialist that I shouldn't learn Italian or learn to use sign language
Auslan (Australian Sign Language), to avoid confusion with my speech. I
did go to a special
school for the Deaf for short time until I was about 8 or so and then I
started to go to Mainstream school along with my sisters and brothers.
Fortunately I have to say it was ok but it wasn't easy being the only
Deaf student with hundreds of hearing students. There were lots of
times I was feeling “homesick” and wanting to go back to my Deaf
friends but I survived... Now, I am proud to say that I am the Mother of 4 wonderful open-minded kids; I have given them all Italian middle names after our relatives, so I want them to understand why they have these names:  William Giuseppe - 16th November, 1992. William was the name of Chris' Father, who sadly passed away 2 months before he was born; this was to be his first Grandchild whereas Mum and Dad already had 7 grandchildren, so it was decided to have both our Fathers’ names. I am glad we did that because it really suited him. He has a nickname "Wiggle" due to the fact that he was such a wiggly baby, never keeping still. He is very  proud of his
Italian background and in Dec 2009,
William went on a student exchange trip to Italy for 6 weeks and he now
can speak the language well. William is a bright and happy –go-lucky
person, who gets on well with everyone - except for anyone who smokes.
I recall that at the age of 3 or so, he would go up to strangers and
let them know that they were “going to die" if they kept on smoking!!!!!James Alessandro - 17th May, 1995. aka Jiggle. Chris and I didn't really have a name ready for him until the last minute just before he was born, but I knew I wanted to have Dad's Father's name as his middle name. James was always the one going to Hospital - whether it was a cut from a broken glass door or fractured wrist, which left his poor Mother with only about 40 minute sleep over-night at the hospital. Today he stands at almost 6 foot 2 inches and he's not 15 until next week. I remember when he was at a fitting for his 1st communion suit; the shop owner didn't believe me that he was only 10 yrs old, as he was already tall for his age. James is willing to learn Italian, but he much prefers his computer to trying to  learn
anything at school and he loves
eating lots of sushi!!! But he is the cuddliest person ever...  Samantha
Caterina and Vanessa Anna Maria; 25th April, 2001. (aka
Twiggles) This was a total surprise for both Chris and me. The whole
family and friends were stunned too, but in the end it was the best
present ever. They were born on Anzac Day and their middle names are
after Zia Nella, Dad’s
eldest sister, and Nonna Anna Maria, Zia Maria
and Anna, my sister. During my pregnancy, I can honestly say that I
could feel Nonna Anna Maria around me and I am sure it was her that
looked after me and sent my Twiggles to me. I managed to carry them to
full term (39 and half weeks), after which I was ready to murder my
wonderful patient Doctor!! Both have different characters and are very
lively girls. As a small child starting to speak, Samantha would speak
with an American accent, whereas Vanessa would talk with Australian
“Ocker” accent and to this day we have no idea why and how but it was
certainly funny. They are now into Music (Cello, Saxophone/Violin and
Clarinet), dancing classes and swimming. Both are keen to learn
Italian. And just like their Mother, they never stop talking!!! (Well
really, the whole Fin family never stops talking!!) Chris and I are very proud of them and we both love them all very much. They all go to a wonderful school, the International Grammar School, which has multicultural languages. I am proud that I have convinced our kids to learn Italian and to never give up as it is a beautiful language that I wish I had learned too.  Apart from wishing to learn Italian, I am so proud of myself that I managed to learn the language that the so - called “specialist” managed to convince my parents was not a good idea to learn in the first place - Auslan (Australian Sign Language), which now has landed me a job working with the Deaf community, which I have come to love so much. I have also found my own identity, which I have been struggling to deal with for as long as I can remember. However, I AM lucky to have both worlds, I can speak and sign at the same time thanks to my family helping me to correct my speech or understanding how things should work etc. Imagine if Dad had never come to Australia and didn't meet mum! Then my 5 sisters and 2 brothers and all the beautiful nieces, nephews and great niece, whom I love very much, wouldn't all be here today....so here's wishing you a very Happy 80th Birthday, Dad!!! Daniela Sydney, NSW |