Two for One 'Brffed Day'

Our son, Jonathan, is coming home this weekend.

It's his BIRTHDAY weekend.

Except, it's not really his birthday. It's later this month. But he has plans on his actual day that don't involve mom and dad (say what?), so he's coming home now so we can celebrate with family.

But yesterday, as I planned meals for the weekend, wrapped presents, cleaned his room and bathroom, and spent over an hour at the grocery store to stock our pantry, it dawned on me that I have a very smart son.

You see, as much as we will celebrate this weekend, as much as Jonathan will be pampered and coddled and loved on over the next few days, I will still feel the need to acknowledge his actual birthday later this month. I mean, he can't get nothing on his actual birthday!

So I will send him a care package.

On his birthday.

Which isn't this weekend.

This sweet little guy will turn 22 years old on his brffed day.

Fifty and a Day

Yesterday was my birthday ... my 50th birthday, to be exact.


Did it bother me, turning fifty? Scare me? Make me feel old? The answer is no, no, and no. I felt the same yesterday, on my birthday, as I did the day before. I feel the same today as I did 10 years ago. A birthday is a birthday is a birthday.


BUT, it is an important milestone and I had some definite thoughts as to how I wanted to approach it. The first thing I decided was that one day wasn't enough; that is, I didn't want to focus on a single day but make the entire year one big birthday adventure. So I said no to a big party, but yes to a weekend in Atlanta; I said no to jewelry, but yes to a one year membership for the High Museum of Art; I said no to a spa day, but yes to a road trip. I plan to do things I've never done, eat food I've never tried, hang out with people I've never met, and visit places I've never seen.


Lord Byron wrote that there is pleasure in the pathless woods, and that's how I want to move forward.


That's my plan. This is how I will celebrate.


Of course, I did have a lovely weekend. Friday night my parents gave us tickets to the Italian American Club Pasta Festival, after which we traveled to Uganda, Philippines, and Guatemala via The Compassion Experience. Saturday afternoon Edible Arrangement #1 arrived, and later we had dinner at my parents' house where they decorated the dining room with all things 50 -- banners, balloons, and signs. My mom (per my request) made homemade pizza (because it's the best) AND  homemade cannoli (again, the best). On Sunday I woke up to two heart-shaped Boston cream donuts, went for a morning hike in the woods with Joe and the boys, and graciously shared my day with the Super Bowl while we munched on Edible Arrangement #2. (I have a funny story about those Edible Arrangements, so stay tuned.) That evening I logged on to Facebook and read email and felt the love.


The whole weekend was warm and fuzzy, just the way I like it.


Believe me, fifty is a big deal. And it should be celebrated. And it does make one introspective. But more than anything it left me floating on a cloud of gratitude -- for this life God has given me, for my husband and sons, for my friends and family, for morning hikes and midnight walks, for the imperfect and perfect.


And for adventure found in pathless woods.

photo 10/16

There Is Pleasure In The Pathless Woods

– By Lord Byron
(from Childe Harold, Canto IV, Verse 178)

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.

The Cereal Bowl Birthday Tradition

It's funny how traditions are born. When the boys were younger and celebrating a birthday, I would leave a surprise in their cereal bowl for them to find when they came down for breakfast. A pack of Pokémon cards, some gum, a funny note ... just something small as a way to kick start their birthday.


One year, the night before Jonathan's birthday, he announced that he couldn't wait to see what would be in his cereal bowl the next morning.


I had completely forgotten. That is to say, I didn't so much forget as think that he had outgrown this ritual, but evidently I was wrong. So after he had gone to bed I made a quick run to Target.


That was the year I realized that our simple ritual had grown into a family tradition, one which has included years of cereal bowls and Matchbox cars and Kit Kat candy bars, and one which continues today, even for an 18-year-old.


Today is Jonathan's birthday, and this morning as I was setting up Jonathan's treats I recognized what a bittersweet moment this was. That little boy excitedly opening a pack of Pokémon cards has grown into a fine young man. Next year Jonathan will be away at college on his birthday, and while other traditions will most certainly evolve, the fact is he won't be here ...


And I will miss our cereal bowl birthday tradition.

The Cereal Bowl Birthday Tradition:
various candies (wrapped because it's fun to UNWRAP), chocolate donuts, $5 gift card
for Chick-fil-A and McDonald's (it's all about the food), and a 2-liter bottle of
Blue Voltage Mountain Dew because he has been begging me for weeks to buy some.
Today I did.

Enough said.

Jonathan

The Backwards Birthday

This past Wednesday was my birthday, and all along I was thinking of it as my 48th birthday.


But later that afternoon I was speaking with my good friend on the phone and we were talking about birthdays and I said I was 48 and she interrupted me and said, "No, you're not."


And you know what? She was right! I'm not 48. I'm 47!!


Now, I ask you? Who does that? Who makes a mistake on how old they are and ADDS a year? I mean, if you're going to err, err in the other direction. Right?


Anyway, as much as I liked being 48, I like being 47 much, much better.


I guess you can say I had a backwards birthday.

Jonathan in the Middle

Dear Jonathan,

Stuck in the middle, you often don't get the attention you deserve.

Your older brother has all the firsts, leading the way in being the first to graduate, first to drive, first to get a job.

Your younger brother is the baby and gets everyone's attention for having the lasts: last to go through kindergarten, last to lose a front tooth, the last to still leave cookies for Santa Claus.

And there you are, bookended by your brothers.

But today is your birthday and we celebrate your passion for sports, your independence, and your cute dimples. Although sometimes quiet, you are charming and witty. Most importantly, you have a good sense of who you are, Jonathan, which is a real blessing.

We love you and we celebrate you.

Bacioni,
Mom, Dad, Nicholas and Timothy

Remember to always proclaim your rarity and celebrate your uniqueness; to use wisely your freedom of choice; and to go the extra mile by doing more than just what is expected.

A Surprise Dinner Party

This past Monday was my Dad's 70th birthday, but we're officially not celebrating until next month when the entire family will gather in Myrtle Beach for a Thanksgiving family reunion/birthday celebration.

But really, I couldn't let his actual birthday go by unacknowledged, could I?

The answer is no, I could not.

So, to honor the actual day I decided to host a surprise dinner party for my Dad. Nothing too elaborate, or too big, but something to make his day special. I planned a meal, decorated the rec room, and set the table.

 

That evening he thought he was coming over for a dinner with just us, but as he was talking with Joe and the boys in the family room I was standing in the driveway bustling in a few of his friends into our rec room. Amazingly (and believe me, with Italians it is amazing) everyone was quiet.



The side door into our rec room.

Was he surprised? Most definitely.

When I announced that dinner was ready and he walked into the rec room ... oh, it was nice. My Dad does this half grin/half smile thing, and he was half grinning and half smiling all evening long.

Between the first and second course we played "The Nonno Game".  A container was passed around the table, and everyone had to pull out a slip of paper and then answer the question or follow the written directions. Some examples included:

What is Nonno's most handsome feature? (from Timothy: his smile)

Who dances better, Dwight/Nonno or Fred Astaire? (from Jonathan: no one dances worse than Nonno, so even though I don't know who Fred Astaire is I'll go with him)

What do you most like about Dwight/Nonno? (from his fishing buddies: his stories!) (this had the rest of us wondering ... have we heard those stories? Somehow, I don't think so.)

What is the funniest story you can tell about Dwight/Nonno? (from Nicholas: the story of when he went fishing with Nonno who, when unhitching the boat, somehow ripped a hole in the seat of his pants. It wasn't a tiny hole; the entire backside of his jeans GAPED. So, in order not to flash the entire lake community, Nonno wrapped a Popeye the Sailor Man towel around his waist.)

And finally there was this one, my favorite:

Tell Nonno to sing the whiskey song. (And he did!)

It was a fun evening. Nonno was surprised, the boys heard all kinds of funny stories, and Nonno got to open his brand new fishing pole sent to him from our Italian relatives.

So, Happy Birthday Dad ... until next month!



Nonno & Nonna

The Birthday Wish List

Two weeks ago Jonathan handed me a five page report. It was typed and included pictures which accompanied the text. It was a very nice presentation.

Except it wasn't a school report ... it was a birthday wish list.

He gave me a wish list in mid-September for his birthday which comes at the end of October.

"Don't you think this is a bit early?" I asked.

"No, I just wanted to give you some time," he replied. "Some of that stuff you can only get online."

"Hmmm." I replied. "Well, you do know that a wish list is just that ... a wish list. There are no guarantees."

"I know," he said. "It's also to give you some ideas."

"Well, I have a few ideas already," I admitted. "For example, I know you need new underwear, new socks, and a new pair of jeans."

"Mom!" he said, truly horrified.

Yesterday was October 1, and Jonathan reminded me that this was his birthday month and wanted to know if I had any questions about the list.

"What list?" I asked.

"Mom!"

After he left for school I pulled out the list. I'd better get going. Only 19 days left to get the underwear, socks, and jeans.