Sweetums' Birthday 2021

Today is the birthday of my older brother, Sweetums, who earned that moniker by being, simply put, perfect.  My super sarcastic sister bestowed the nickname on him years ago, when my mother was admonishing my brother Vincenzo and a cousin of ours not to skip out on a pre-Thanksgiving school pep rally: "Your brother wouldn't do something like that!"

No sooner did those words leave her mouth when Sweetums came in through the kitchen door, a day earlier than expected.  When he saw the looks of surprise on our faces, he explained: "I was offered a ride down from school, so I bagged a couple of classes so I didn't have to take the bus home."

Sister dear was delighted by this, and started joking, "Oh, he would never cut class because he a perfect Sweetums.  Sweetums would never do that because he's so perfect."

The name stuck because he's, simply put, perfect.  He was always a good role model, an upstanding young man who modeled proper behavior in all walks of life- familiar, civic, academic, you name it.  We all did well in school and avoided the pitfalls of adolescence, and he was the eldest, the one who set the example for proper living.  Mom set the bar high, and Sweetums showed us his way of clearing that bar, which we all did in our own ways.

I called Sweetums in Switzerland this morning... he knew it was me because nobody else would be calling from the 'States at 4AM.  He's going to celebrate his natal day in low-key fashion, taking one of the kids to high school entrance exam preparation, and then enjoying a nice meal at home with the family.  Most of our call was about Mom's well-being, and I was happy to report that, at eighty, Mom is with-it and active.  I was happy to know that Vincenzo gave the same report to Sweetums last week, Sweetums is a devoted son, as well as a devoted big brother- that's why he's Sweetums.