As Joseph Alfred Riguzzi Turns 21

How could I NOT write about this milestone? I had to do it … so out of semi-retirement, I come. Perhaps, out of my winter funk is more accurate, but whichever, this is all about Joseph Alfred Riguzzi, gifted to me by God on a beautiful Easter morning too many years ago.  

Over the years as I have written about my guy, I refer to him as Joe or Joey, but as he has matured, he asks you to call him by his given name … so Joseph it is!   

Around 18, Joseph announced he would drink his first beer with his dad on his 21st birthday. We convinced him to try some wine in Italy as the drinking age was 18, but it only had to touch his lips and that was enough for him. You see, as he will tell you, wine is for girls and beer is for men. Plus, he didn’t like it.

There was another time in North Dakota when he was 20 and we got him to taste a margarita after a very long 8-mile hike for which we were ill-prepared.  (He took one sip and didn’t like this either.) But the beer had to be 21.

So here we are … 

When discussing his 21st birthday, we offered a big Easter celebration with the whole extended family or a pizza truck and he can invite all his friends – whatever he wanted! So much to our surprise, he announced a couple of months ago he wanted to go to Captain Lawrence, a local brewery, to have that beer with Dad, his family, and friends.  

You could have knocked me over with a feather!  

Not only does that make my life easier as far as entertaining, but we love Captain Lawrence! It’s like the coolest place around us and it makes perfect sense. The coolest place for the coolest kid! My classic rocker kid’s first words were sha-la-la. Why? Because we had to listen to Van Morrison’s brown-eyed girl over and over and over. Matter-of-fact, this was his first concert at the age of 5, and would see him two more times over the years.  That’s how awesome he is!

Some other fun facts about Joseph:

1. He can tell you every song on any Beatles Album, the order it’s in, and who sings it. 
2. His favorite musician is Elton John. (You can see him perform Bennie & The Jets)
3. His favorite band is Black Sabbath
4. The current favorite songs he plays over and over are “What I Like About You” by the Romantics and “I Do” by The J. Geils Band. 
5. Joseph can identify most classic rock songs in 1-3 notes and needs to be on Name That Tune. 
6. My strong young man had leukemia at 9 and won. 
7. The dude is also a sore loser when it comes to playing Uno but loves to play. You WILL feel his wrath if you throw any +2 or draw 4 cards at him. 

Just for fun, I asked Joseph what makes him interesting and his response was, “I’m handsome, I love my family, I love my aunts, uncles, and cousins and I love my friends.”  He is so handsome and clearly does not have self-esteem issues.

But for the most part, it’s all about love, as it should be. 

Yesterday, as each person arrived at his party, Joseph greeted them personally so everyone knew how special they are to him. The perfect host. A great example of this love was when we were singing happy birthday to him and he grabbed his friend Matty to share in his moment of glory to help blow out his candles. He has been looking out for Matty for years – something instinctual. 

As the Bible teaches, give love and you shall receive love …

Cheers to you, Joseph – the best Easter gift ever! Thank you for making our family complete and showing us what faith, hope, perseverance, and LOVE are all about. You make the world a better place just by being in it. Your Momma loves you!

A Happy and Blessed Easter to all of you and thank you for indulging me. See you all soon!

xoxo

Sandy

PS: He didn’t like the beer.