We are very excited to be presenting this part of Leaving A Life Legacy – where we put a spotlight on one of YOU.

Every month, we will be featuring a guest writer who has graciously agreed to helping us achieve this new idea of ours. They will select one question from those that we have posed that month and give us their answer to it.

We will be starting off with family but if you would like to be featured, send us an email at leavingalifelegacy@gmail.com and we will slot you in for a coming month!

So, there you have it and to see what our guests have answered, scroll on down.

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I unfortunately don’t have any toys from my childhood.

But when I saw this question, my mind immediately went to a little house we lived in on Crapo Street in Bridgewater. I was in the 3rd and 4th grades during that time and my absolute favorite toy was a matted-down old stuffed bunny that I named Pink Eyes.

I have no idea why I named it Pink Eyes because he didn’t have pink eyes. His eyes were bright blue, and his body was pink. I’m not sure where or when I got that bunny, but I cherished him for a while and slept with him every night.

I like to think maybe we sold him in a yard sale, or he went missing while we were out and about somewhere so there is a chance he is still making some little kid happy.

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I have only volunteered a few times, just picking up trash for school hours, but if I was to volunteer for a charity, I would want to go somewhere where I enjoy what I’m doing and see how it changes people’s lives. For me, that would be Habitat for Humanity!

Habitat for Humanity is an amazing charity that builds and fixes homes for people in need. Since 1976 they have built over four million homes! You don’t need any construction experience and there is no age limit, there are always other volunteers ready to teach!

I’ve always wanted to travel and see other countries but not just the tourist areas. There are over 70 countries that anyone can volunteer in which sounds very intriguing to me.

Even if it’s just donating old furniture or household items you may not need anymore, there are many ways to help.

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Toward the end of my freshman year in college, I was given the opportunity to go to Italy with my older brother, my cousin, and my Nonni (grandmother). My brother had originally only invited Nonni, but she insisted that my cousin and I join them. I am beyond grateful that she did, because only two short months after that trip, Nonni passed away. 

My Nonni and I spent almost every day together as I was growing up. She watched me before and after school when I was younger and picked me up from school as I got older. She was a kind, caring, and loving grandmother and would feed you every time she saw you, even if you weren’t hungry. 

When I first thought of the one day I would like to relive, I immediately thought of one specific day during our trip to Italy. We went to the old country, Ali in Sicily. That is where her family was from. Nonni was the only one of her siblings born in America. As we walked the streets of this extremely small town the residents came out to greet us and tell us stories.

Many of the people we met were somehow related to us. At the time I didn’t appreciate the moment the way I wish I had. I wish that I had been more tuned in to the stories and tried to understand the familial connections better. Mostly, I wish I could go back and enjoy watching Nonni and her excitement to show us her family’s home. 

I remember at the end of the trip, Nonni and her cousin Lena shared a long tearful embrace. Someone, I think my brother, pointed out that this would most likely be the last time they would see each other. We had no idea how quickly that would prove to be true.

 I guess that’s what this is really all about, right? Leaving a Life Legacy gives us a space to remember those experiences and stories that help us feel close to those we have lost. 

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This is a tough one.

Would I want to go to Portugal, where my father was born, and see all the family I haven’t seen in years?

Or do I choose North Carolina to visit my niece and nephew and see their new house?

Or do I choose somewhere that I’ve always wanted to go on vacation like Bora Bora to one of those over the water huts?

Or Norway or Iceland to see the northern lights?

But in thinking of going to all these places, I wouldn’t want to go alone. Each and every one of these places I would want to go with my wife and kids and this question doesn’t say I can bring them.

So, where would I want to go by myself? There is only one place that I can think of that I have always wanted to go to, that I would be okay going alone. That place is Nürburg Germany.

Nürburg is home to the most famous racetrack in the world, the Nürburgring. A 12.94-mile course through the mountains. Every new sports car that comes out is tested and judged based on its lap times at the ring. Growing up playing racing video games, it was always the most challenging and therefore fun course to race and I have always wanted to do it in real life.

So, I would want to be teleported to the Nürburgring, find the first rich guy I see with his multiple supercars and hopefully, I could convince him to let me take a lap or two.

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The last thing I googled was

When does registration for kindergarten start?

They tell you that they grow up in a blink of an eye and even though I know it to be true, it still boggles my mind that Aviana will be going to kindergarten in the fall. How is she already turning 5? How did I blink, and my tiny full head of hair newborn bundle turned into this hilarious, sassy, charismatic almost 5-year-old?

Why does kindergarten feel like such a huge jump in her aging? How can something that seems so normal and just a part of life be so terrifying? The questions are never-ending. Will she make friends easily? Will she like her teacher? Will she get picked on? Will she feel/be safe? Will she make good choices?

Kindergarten becomes 6th grade which becomes Senior Year and don’t get me started on college, marriage, and babies. I can’t go there yet.

I am so excited and honored to watch the amazing child, pre-teen, teenager, and adult that I know she will blossom into, but I just wish the all-mighty time gods would pump the brakes a bit!

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We would like to welcome our inaugural

Spotlight Stories guest —

Of all the cultural arts, I love the Theater the most.

I have very fond memories of going to NYC with my Mom, Aunt Ellen, and my sister Melissa to see a few shows each year and that is where I fell in love with my all time favorite Broadway Show – Elton John and Tim Rice’s AIDA.

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