Tanti Auguri, Ignazio!

Dear Ignazio –

We have waited and waited for 21 years to celebrate this special day, even though we’ve only known you for a little over six of those years, it seems like we’ve known you forever. We didn’t know what a special day it was, back in 1994 on October 4^th, when this beautiful boy came into the world, how he would transform our very being into the most joyous reason for living that there could possibly be!?

To paraphrase your new song “The Best Day of My Life…,” we did not know that it was the best day of our lives when you were born. But after seeing you; how our lives have changed. We see the world from your eyes now, and want to share it with you.

So, while you were off in Spain, enjoying your birthday paella, we celebrated your special day, here in Detroit, with a special birthday menu! To start off we honored the city of your birth, Bologna, with special Bologna appetizers, brought by dear Virginia, hand-rolled herself, consisting of bologna, cheese, cream cheese, and olives! The next course was a beautiful Caprese salad, garnished with garden fresh basil from Sharon, with tomatoes and mozzarella brought by Magdalena. The main course, was, of course, Chicken Scallopine Marsala, ala Ignazio (“just a little bit of cinnamon” – I added about two shakes!) and with a special added surprise ingredient by Jana! The Marsala with baby portabellas, was served with casarecce (homemade in Italian) pasta – Sicily inspired, by Barilla, along with fresh broccoli and carrots from Emilia. To wash everything down, we had plenty of wine and special Villa Pozzi Moscato from Donna, right from Sicily! For dessert, we had a very special chocolate cake with one of your favorite pictures of you on it, brought by Chris. We couldn’t forget the gelato! We had salted caramel, raspberry, and chocolate mint; from Sharon and Donna. Everything was delicious – if I don’t say so myself! Lol! And was enjoyed by all!

Although the weather was typical for a fall weekend in Michigan, with a gray, cool, and drizzly day, the atmosphere inside was filled with warmth, laughter, friends, fun, and food!

While waiting for dinner we listened to the concert from Verona, took some pictures, and of course, sang Happy Birthday to our dearest Ignazio!

Tanti Auguri, Ignazio  –  hope this link works, having tech difficulties with converting video…

After dinner, we enjoyed dessert and listened and watched the Pompeii video, which I finally got after 3 months – ok, long story, but it was definitely worth the wait!

My favorite one-liner of the evening, was “Jana, you have to hit play…” Ok, our special inside joke, but, seriously, we all burst out laughing!

I actually did have some red, green, and white star balloons brought by Chris, that I had tied outside to a bush so the newcomers could find the place. However, since it was rainy out, I did not take a picture and ended up leaving them overnight outside. I went out for several hours the next day and when I came back, they were still tied to the bush and I was going to take them down. However, by the time I pulled into the parking lot and got out of my car, a few teenagers had already grabbed them, were sitting on the curb across the street, and you could hear the “helium” voices!!! At first I was upset, but then thought about it… it’s just what Ignazio would have done! In fact, we have video of him doing just that last year! Lol!

Ignazio, many people tell you how special you are. All of you guys are special in your own ways… But, Ignazio, even with your jetlagged eyes and pouty lips; your eyes still twinkle, your lips still smile, and your cheeks cannot hide the dimples beneath them. Your face radiates joy each time you open your mouth to sing. With each tender note, you open your soul for all of us to see; you touch our hearts like raindrops falling to the parched earth.

“Per Te Ci Sarò”

“Vi proteggerà   Noi saremo lì per voi   Non lasciate che il mondo ti cambia   Lotteremo per voi ci   Noi saremo lì per voi”

Per sempre!

Birthday Blessings,

Jana