My grandfather recently celebrated his 99th birthday. Gramps, or Ugly, as he is affectionately referred by us grandkids was born August 25, 1909. 1909….it’s so crazy to me to think that he has lived through almost an entire century. He has lived through two World Wars and remembers clearly the transition from horse and cart to engine-run automobiles. He saw the invention of television, rock and roll, talking motion pictures and penicillin. And before he was 30, he was introduced to frozen food, bubblegum, canned beer, nylon and the ball point pen….all things we take for granted today.

He often tells the story of how he used to ride in the back of his father’s old wind up pick up truck to deliver vegetables from the family farm in Arlington to Fanueil Hall, when Haymarket was a hub for farmers looking to sell their goods.

Despite all his years, my grandfather still acts and looks much as he has my entire life. He definitely moves slower now than when I was a kid, and you have to shout when you talk to him. But, he is still the feisty, lovable, funny Ugly I have always known.

Here he is directing the family in song as we sing Happy Birthday at his party a couple of weekend’s ago. He’s such a clown!

And here he is diving in to his strawberry shortcake birthday cake. I just love the cheeky child-like look in his eyes in the photo on the right. He had just finished sucking a big piece of cake off of the knife. Just goes to show, you’re never too old to enjoy good cake!

I get sad when I think about how little time I have left with this incredible, warm, generous, smart, funny man. Gramps has been a constant loving presence in my life since the day I was born. When my parents first married, they lived on the middle floor in a three-story apartment that Gramps owned in East Boston. My great-grandmother lived on the top floor and my second cousins lived on the first floor with their mother, my grandfather’s sister Viola. Even though we moved to a house in Melrose when I was 3, just after my sister Debbie was born, I can still remember my first home and the strong sense of family that was nurtured there.

Since that time, there have been many more memories created with my family and central to most of them is my grandfather. He and my grandmother, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago at the age of 98, have always been the glue that holds our family together. Holiday dinners were spent around their kitchen table. Many summer days were spent playing in their backyard, picking Gramps’ fresh vegetables from his garden and eating…always eating!

Every year when I was young, my grandfather and his siblings organized their families for the annual Ferullo Family picnic at Kingston State Park. It was the best part of my summer. I got to reunite with all of my cousins for a fun day filled with oodles of hugs & kisses, laughter, swimming, family games and of course…eating! Lots of good eating!

I could never visit my grandparents’ house without Gramps and Grams trying to give us something – a rewired lamp, mismatched sheets, or delicious leftovers. Gramps has always given what he could to his family. Even today, he is still this way, taking extra fruit from the assisted living facility cafeteria to give to us when we visit.

Here he gives his sister, Mary, a blanket and makes sure she’s comfortable. I just love this man to pieces!

My grandfather has taught me many things–how to refinish furniture and pick a fresh carrot. He taught me to appreciate simple food made with love and showed me that a good marriage isn’t always perfect. He taught me how not to drive and how difficult getting old can be. But, the biggest thing I have learned from my grandfather has been the importance of family, that riches don’t come from money, but from the comfort you get in knowing you have people who love you and will always be there for you, no matter what!

It’s always been about family with my Gramps. Here my sisters and I share a little family time with Gramps. Again, always the jokester he pulls a funny face! Don’t let him fool you though….he really loves those moments when we all fawn over him!

Here he gets some lovin’ from Sadie. She knows a good man when she sees one. (I don’t know why, but Sadie goes in to all of her kisses with an open mouth….she’s hysterical! I just love this series, how you can tell she’s checking Gramps out, decides he’s good for kissin’ and goes in for it whole heartedly! Too funny!)

And here the three Michaels get together for a picture. Gramps, my dad and my nephew are all named Michael…but there’s only one Ugly!!! (I love the way my dad laughs. It’s hard not to laugh when he does….although little Michael just looks confused.)

In celebration of this legend of a man, my aunt hosted Gramp’s birthday party at her house. Our whole family came out to celebrate, my sisters and their families, my cousins and their families. Even three of my grandfather’s younger sisters and their families came out to honor the eldest Ferullo son. It was like the reunions of yesteryear. The memories came flooding back.

My cousin, Mayrlee, (seen in the below photo) gave my grandfather the coolest present. She collected old and not-so-old photos from everyone in the family and put together a wonderful book for Gramps. His memory isn’t what it used to be, but with a little help he remembered and you could see that he too was being flooded with memories of bygone days.

Here he looks at a photo of my grandmother with my two aunts. She was such a strong and beautiful woman my Grandma!!!

I can’t help thinking what a strange phase of life this must be for Gramps. All of his kids are grown. His wife of 63 years is gone. His friends are all gone as are most of his siblings. Even the grandkids he used to bounce on his knee not so long ago now have children of their own. Today, home for Ugly isn’t the humble ranch in which he spent so many years. Instead, it is a nearby assisted living facility shared with other elderly folks who are just waiting for their time to go.

As wonderful as his birthday was, it was also a bitter reminder that I don’t have much time left with him. I know none of us can live forever, but the thought of losing my Ugly breaks my heart and I just can’t imagine life without him. He isn’t just my grandfather – my Gramps, my Ugly. He is my very dear friend.

Gramps went into the hospital unexpectedly the other day with an irregular heartbeat and what they thought was an infection. It turns out he has gallstones. It’s been a bit of a scare, since any trips to the hospital at this age could mean the beginning of the end. We’re all really worried about him. Andy & I are off to visit him at the hospital today. If you think of it, say a prayer for Ugly and hold tightly to the ones you love!

On the way home from a wedding late the other night we came upon an unexpected sight….the Hood blimp parked in an air strip along Route 130 in Marstons Mills.

It had been a very long day and we were completely exhausted. So, the impulse was to keep going, straight to our beds. But, the sight was too hard to pass up. We stopped, got out our tripod and camera and tried to capture what we had seen.

With it’s lights still on, the blimp lit up the night sky and with an end-of-summer fog hanging above the warm ground, the scene was at once arresting and ethereal in the most surprising kind of way. Check it out…

We got home about 45 minutes later than we would have. But, it was worth it…don’t you think?

How much can a change in perspective really change? Everything? Just maybe!

I’m feeling inspired today and even a little philosophical. Maybe it’s just me getting older and feeling more profoundly that my time here is so fleeting. I want desperately to leave a positive footprint and there seems so little time to do so. Or, maybe it’s just that through Bello Andy & I have been blessed to be invited into the lives of some pretty amazing people who awe & inspire me. Whatever it is, love has secured a stronghold in my life and changed my perspective. The love, it’s always been there, though usually reserved for people close to me…family, friends, and of course Andy. And, my perspective has always been fairly positive, though, I admit, sometimes singed with moments of cynicism.

Lately, however, I find myself filled with much love and for people I don’t really know…that sounds a little trite. But, it’s true. I have always believed that if you put good things out there, good things will find their way back to you. Through Bello, I am finding this to be even more truthful than I had ever imagined.

Sometimes we put good things out there without realizing or even intending it. And when we do, we are richer for it. Here’s a funny example: When Andy first came to the US, it took him a while to adjust to new expressions and the overall American way of life. Driving, especially here on the Cape in the summer, particularly took some getting used to. One day, Andy was driving along and a car pulled up behind him, riding him hard and aggressively. It was the end of a long summer of similar experiences and Andy’s frustrated response was to give the driver the British equivalent of “the finger.” If you’re not familiar with this hand signal, it is made by making the peace sign in reverse, with your palm facing your face and the outside of your hand facing the unfortunate recipient. There is also usually some hand waiving involved; the amount of which directly relates to the annoyance of the person delivering the un-peace-like hand-waiving message.

Anyway, giving this sign to a person behind you, at least here in the US, looks very much like you’re saying “Peace,” which is exactly how the aggressive driver behind Andy interpreted the message. And an amazing thing happened. The aggressive driver smiled, waved and gave the peace sign back, immediately pulling back his car, with his aggression seeming to disappear. This, of course, had an equally calming effect on Andy. He then waived back, this time with genuinely friendly intentions. And, both men drove off, smiling and feeling better about their day.

The reason I tell this story is because today I had a really good day and I realized I had such a good day because I made other people feel good and in so doing they returned the favor by making me feel good. It all started with a really wonderful e-mail from Jeanne, the mother of a groom whose wedding we recently photographed. The goodness continued throughout the day, right up through a wonderful phone call I just finished with Catherine Howe, this amazing woman and jewelry designer who is not only uber talented, but who also has an amazing gift of connecting people and connecting with people.

All day long, everything I seemed to touch was infused with good feelings thanks to my interactions with others. I couldn’t help but marvel at this law of nature…this “pay it forward” law of goodness, which if we open ourselves up to can enrich us in unimaginable ways. I am feeling so blessed.

The day isn’t over yet….who might you touch with goodness?

Finally, after about 5 weeks, the cacophony of the cicadas has finally subsided. We have endured many days where the air hung thick with the loud raucous mating calls of these strange looking red eyed bugs, whose life cycle seems almost pointless. Check out our earlier post to see what I mean! Now, life, and the sweet sound of summer, is finally back to normal! We can once again drive around town with the windows rolled down and hang out in the backyard without packing a tennis racket for protection. Oh, and Chris no longer squeals and runs for cover as she legs it for the car!

It seems the cicadas have had their fun, laid their eggs, and have recycled themselves back into the circle of life. Peace is restored!

Its amazing to watch them emerge from the nymph stage

What are you looking at?

However, it doesn’t work out for all of them. Imagine this, you spend 17 years underground in total darkness just waiting waiting for this 5 week period that your whole life depends upon, where you crawl out of the ground intent on singing, flying around like a hovercraft, singing happily, mating (of course) and then lay eggs, only to stumble at the first hurdle and your wings won’t grow and you become ant bait! Now that’s a bummer!

And these nymph shells are still hanging around over a month later!

But when it does work out. Bow-chica-bow-wow! More cicadas in 17 years.

Until then …

Our nephew, Calvin, turned three last week. It’s hard to believe, since it feels like just yesterday that we were there with my sister, Kim, and brother-in-law, Eric, as Cal made his way into this world. It has been such a joy watching Cal become his own sweet little person. He warms my heart and fills my life with such joy. Sometimes when we are talking, I just get lost in his eyes. He’s only 3, but I swear he is an old soul and I have no doubt, the world is a better place because he’s in it!

Here he is at his birthday party. Happy Birthday Bubba! Auntie & Uncle love you to bits!!!!

Cal gets a little help from mommy as he takes a whack at his Buzz Lightyear pinata (look at the concentration)

Horsing around with Uncle Andy…(this photo is courtesy of my dad….nice one pappa!!)

Pile on Pappa in the rented bouncy house. Poor Cal thought it was his to keep and was apparently pretty upset the next morning when he went outside and discovered someone had taken his Bouncy House away. Awww…..

Baby sister Sadie wonders what all the commotion is about…

I love this shot of 3 generations of Ferullos. Sadie & I have a little chat while my dad looks on. I imagine he’s thinking it wasn’t that long ago that his girls were that size.

Cal & Sadie’s new cousin, Michael, hangs out with his favorite Auntie Chris. Does life get any better than this, really?

Second cousin Sebbie was not quite as keen to have his picture taken….but we stole this quick shot while he was devouring a cookie. Check out those eyes!!!! He looks just like his mommy! Gorgeous!

Cal’s best friend, Maggie, puts on a cheeky grin, while Cal tries to claim back his seat in the playhouse. Maggie is the toughest, sweetest little cupcake ever. Poor thing had a shiner on her eye after falling down earlier in the day. Being the little miss independent that she is, she was completely unphased by her injury. I love this little munchkin! She’s going to be president one day!

Happy Birthday to you…..

A little help from his friend…

And here are just a few from a few days later, on Cal’s actual birthday. He decided to wear his Super Calvin outfit to celebrate the occasion! Who could blame him! Birthday are meant to be celebrated super style!

Look Auntie…I’m flying…

It was Cal’s b-day, but I couldn’t resist capturing a few shots of Sadie’s tubby time with mommy. I just love the way the light is pouring through the window in these. Is she gorgeous or what? It’s been a long road, but she’s doing so good now!

Mommy you’re funny…

And my personal favorite to wrap it up…