Buon Compleanno

Happy 4th birthday to my baby nephew Caden!

As he is my first and only nephew, I have a particularly special bond with him. Until he was born, I honestly didn't think I had a maternal bone in my body. But when I held him for the first time, all that changed. Of all the roles I have in life, being his Aunt Lace is one of the best. It's been so cool watching him grow up thus far, and I can't wait to see the little dude that he becomes.

So to my favorite boy in the whole world, may you have the very happiest of birthdays!



Caden and his annually shrinking birthday cakes.





The Crucible

cru•ci•ble [kroo-suh-buhl]

-noun
1. a container of metal or refractory material employed for heating substances to high temperatures.

2. Metallurgy. a hollow area at the bottom of a furnace in which the metal collects.

3. a severe, searching test or trial


At present, my little brother, Gianluca, is completing his final test in boot camp- The Crucible. I wasn't sure what exactly this entailed aside from sleep deprivation and hiking, so I looked it up:

For 54 straight hours, recruits’ endurance, teamwork and skills will be pushed to the limit. Through perseverance and courage, they will finish as platoons and earn the title Marine.

During The Crucible, recruits face:

• Obstacles that must be negotiated as a team

• Day and nighttime marches

• Night infiltration movement

• Combat resupply and casualty evacuation scenarios

• Combat field firing as a team

• Minimal food and sleep, simulating combat

• Leadership tests

• Core values training

[via Marine Corps website]

That sounds nice, doesn't it? Teambuilding, core values, and minimal sleep [read: not sleeping for the duration]... I mean, who doesn't love that? But I've got complete faith in Gianluca.

While he doesn't sound his normal, jovial self in the letters I've received, he is hanging in there and doing as well as can be expected. (I'm hoping that he doesn't sound happy-go-lucky as usual because laughter and happiness aren't allowed in the Marines, and not because it's changed him. Though I did find comfort in the fact that some Fail Blog print outs I mailed made him laugh so hard he almost got in trouble.)

I also know that if Gianluca had to pick between completing The Crucible or doing a book report on Arthur Miller's play of the same namesake, he would pick the former 10 times over. So if all goes well and he doesn't get injured, he will officially be a Marine by the end of the day. (And it'd better go well, because my plane ticket to his graduation next week is non-refundable.)

I have no doubt he is channeling thoughts of Hooters wings and waitresses to carry him through.

Gianluca and our nephew Caden at his HS graduation.

So today, please say a little prayer for my brother during his final tribulation to become one of the few and the proud. And thanks to everyone who has mailed him letters and given him their support- I can't tell you how much it means to me!

Time is of the Essence

"Time is a created thing.

To say 'I don't have time' is to say 'I don't want to.'"

-Lao Tzu

 As a classic Type A personality, this quote resonated with me when I saw it on my friend Sam's facebook status a while back. My interest is piqued easily, and the desire to explore, experience, and do rarely subsides. I try to pack as much as I can into every day, week, month, and year so that I won't ever look back and wish I'd lived more. My Google Calendar is so packed and color coordinated that it makes a bag of Skittles look bland. Often 24 hours in a day just aren't enough. But even in the midst of a full schedule, I create time for what I need to.

I suppose that's what life is all about. Living it to the fullest, making yourself the best (and busiest)  you can be, but all the while finding balance between obligation and indulgence.