Newsletter: May 2026 – The Gift of Time with Family and Friends
Every once in a while, I find that life quietly reminds me what matters most.
Not through grand achievements or perfectly planned moments, but through ordinary conversations around kitchen tables, old stories repeated for the hundredth time, long friendships that somehow survived decades, and realizing that the people who have walked alongside you through life are slowly growing older with each step we take. Time does indeed march onwards without hesitation.
This month felt a little like that.
"Ogni tanto, la vita ci riporta all'essenziale." (Every once in a while, life brings us back to what is essential.)
Mother’s Day Celebration with Mothers
Courtney and I spent part of May back in Canada visiting our mothers for Mother’s Day. (Italians call it the Festa Della Mamma… which sounds appropriate given their matriarchal role in Italy.) Rather than doing anything extravagant, we did what I’m beginning to recognize is perhaps the most important thing: to spend time together. So we did that at a restaurant in the small lakeside town of Port Stanley. Being back with family also gave me some “trivia time” with one of sisters at a local pub, and some family bbq time!
I’ve always enjoyed spending time with Courtney’s mom because it feels like both a window into Courtney’s childhood and, in some ways, a glimpse into the future too — a quiet reminder that life keeps moving forward through generations, stories, and shared memories. I also highly respect that Courtney’s mom is also living her life to the fullest and still stepping out to follow her own passions, like becoming a boating Captain and spending some valuable summer days on the water near Orillia!
The time I get with my own mom is extremely valuable to me. Aside from playing card games, I really enjoy the hours we can spend chatting about life. As I get older, I’m beginning to realize that some of the most valuable conversations in life are the ones you can’t “Google.”
I can search the internet for places I want to visit, local bookshops, and so many other things, but I can’t google “past stories” that only exist between family members: such as how my grandfather operated his local small town hatchery and dairy, and how he had to navigate a difficult transition in 1967… and I can’t search for the story about how my mom and dad met during this time and started dating.
My mom met my dad at 21 years old, and I can’t “Google” how she was feeling when she navigated their long distance relationship, or how she felt when the relationship ended so abruptly. Instead of giving up on each other, they chose to push through the hard times and reunited a year later. To avoid any further complications of a long distance relationship, they chose to get married 2 weeks later. Two weeks! That sounds like the plot of a juicy Romantic Comedy!
My entire existence rested upon my parents’ choice in making this decision.
After all, this is well before WhatsApp and cheap long distance calling. It must’ve felt like living worlds apart in that era even though they were only 3 hours away from each other. The Big City girl meeting the Small Town boy. I guess “love” won out and this all somehow led to my existence.
Since the passing of my father last year, I’m realizing that what really leaves us in these moments of life is more than just a life, it’s the person’s entire history and shared memories.
Those stories only exist if someone takes the time to ask. When was the last time you asked about your family history?
And so, more and more, I find myself enjoying “a stroll down memory lane” with family. Maybe that’s why Sicilians enjoy their “passegiare” time to stroll down the streets in the evenings, arm in arm, sharing stories as they share life. The older generations carry entire libraries inside them that may be lost forever if we forget to ask about it.
Quality Time in Orillia
While in Canada, Courtney and I also spent time in Orillia, Ontario — one of those towns that feels especially alive once the warmer weather returns. There is something comforting about small-town Ontario in springtime: marinas beginning to fill again, patios reopening, people emerging from winter like cautious groundhogs testing the daily temperature to determine if spring has arrived yet.
Sharing a meal at Fare Restaurant with Courtney’s extended family — her brother and sister-in-law and their two daughters, along with her sister, brother-in-law, and nephew — felt like time very well spent. The conversations, life updates, laughter, and simple “check-ins” with one another have become meaningful anchor points in our “slow travel” lifestyle . The day also included celebrating a special birthday milestone, complete with a homemade “treasure” cake that was golden in more ways than one — both in appearance and in the memories it helped create.
Courtney and I also participated in Charlee’s Run, a local 5km event held in memory of Charlee — a young girl whose story continues to inspire the community around her. Events like that always feel like more than just exercise. They become reminders that life is fragile, community matters, and sometimes the best way to honour difficult stories is simply by continuing to live well, move forward, and show up together.
For us, it also became a good excuse to motivate each other to get outside and exercise together — something that somehow sounds much more appealing when there is a worthy charity involved.
Courtney also had the chance to spend some quality time with her nieces and nephew, which naturally involved enough energy to power a small city. My time with her nephew involved a lot of Hot Wheels and engineering bigger and bigger ramps to launch the cars across the room, as well as designing and folding paper airplanes that could be launched from the 2nd storey into the backyard. It was an incredibly soul-fueling time, just like my game of bocce ball with my brother-in-law! (Of course he won, but he has true Italian roots whereas I’m just getting mine planted in Sicily!)
Quality over Quantity is a Preference
Back with my own family, we gathered for a BBQ where family and old friends drifted in and out, just like the memories and stories did, throughout the afternoon and even late into the evening. JK and SK came by, along with MD and AD — friends I’ve known since high school! It was like “time traveling” to realize that some things just don’t change.
There is something strangely grounding about friendships that stretch across decades.
At some point, the conversations stop being introductions and become ongoing chapters in a story everyone has been co-writing since childhood—The jokes get older, the stories become more exaggerated every year, and everyone remembers events slightly differently. Nobody entirely trusts anyone else’s version anymore.
And yet somehow, those friendships become more valuable with time.
I also spent some quality time catching up with MH and hearing about the latest developments in his life, relationships, and where life is taking him next. Will he stay on the 50 acre farm that’s been part of his family for several generations? We never know what the future holds. I’ve started to appreciate how rare it is to have friendships where you can pick up a conversation after months or years apart, and somehow, continue as though almost no time has passed.
Perhaps that’s one of the best parts of getting older.
Inside your mind, everyone still feels roughly the same age they were when you first met them. Then one day you realize you’ve collectively accumulated decades of memories together.
And somehow, the stories from twenty-five years ago still make everyone laugh just as hard.
Nothing really replaces spending time together in person with family and friends. WhatsApp calls and text messages help keep us connected, but my favourite moments are still the ones shared face to face.
It’s almost like an on-going sports commentary or a comedic independent documentary film narration to interact with my sisters and their husbands, as well as my nieces, as we all actively take notice of how life is aging us.
A Return to Sicily… Again
Eventually, Courtney and I made our way back to Sicily, returning once again to our slower rhythm of life in the Madonie Mountains.
One of the things we increasingly appreciate about life here is the way relationships are built slowly and deeply over time. Since returning, we’ve spent time reconnecting with newer friends in town, hearing updates about their growing family and their new baby (congrats M & MF!) — another reminder of how quickly life moves forward while somehow feeling “timeless” at the same time.
I also reconnected with a friend for chess in the spectacular Church cloister at the museum bar. As we were the only ones having a drink and playing chess, eventually even the bar owner decided to go home. He asked us to lock up when we leave. Can you even imagine that happening anywhere other than this small quaint town? We were also joined by my new friend D. from Palermo. It’s nice to see new friendships leading to even newer friendships.
Though truthfully, chess with a friend in Sicily often becomes only partially about chess.
The board simply gives two people (and spectators) permission to sit together for hours talking about life, family, relationships, philosophy, work, stress, and occasionally, if time permits, an actual chess move.
I suspect this may secretly be one of the reasons older Italian men play so much chess and cards in public squares. The games are simply “scaffolding” for conversation.
Exploring the Madonie Mountains
Courtney and I have also continued to spend some time cycling through the mountains, including a ride to Geraci Siculo — a beautiful hill town perched high above the surrounding valleys. The ride ended up being just over 50km in total, but thankfully, the return journey included a stretch of over 10 kilometres downhill where gravity kindly agreed to handle most of the work.
There are few feelings quite like flying down a Sicilian mountain road with olive groves below you, mountain air in your face, and the realization that for a brief moment you are travelling faster than your own thoughts.
Nta Sicilia lu tempu nun s'affretta mai, ma arriva sempri." ("In Sicily, time is never in a hurry, but it always arrives.")
One evening after returning to Sicily, Courtney and I rode the motorbike into the countryside near Collesano for dinner at Casale Drinzi — one of those places that feels deeply Sicilian in the best possible way: long tables, slow meals, mountain air, and absolutely no sense that anyone is trying to rush you back out the door.
We were served by Marta, a young woman originally from Poland who’s now building her life here in Sicily. It somehow felt like a perfect reflection of what we’ve increasingly noticed about this island: people arrive for different reasons, but many end up staying because Sicily has a strange way of convincing you that you belong here. Somewhere between the food, conversation, and another evening disappearing into the Sicilian countryside, we found ourselves once again lingering far longer than planned, which, in Sicily, usually means the evening was a success.
Family Visit from Canada
As May comes to an end, we’re preparing for another meaningful chapter: my niece arriving in Sicily to spend a week with us.
And honestly, that thought feels surreal.
I still vividly remember teaching her how to climb stairs when she was little. I can remember sitting nearby watching her figure out how to lift one tiny leg high enough to reach the next step. At the time, it felt like such a small and ordinary moment.
Since then, more than twenty years have passed.
And here she is, arriving in Sicily as a wonderful young woman spending a year travelling the world herself.
Life moves strangely fast that way.
One moment, you get the news that your niece has been born and, “Dude, you’re an Uncle!”, and then suddenly, you’re planning mountain hikes together in Sicily and discussing adult life between gelatos!
Perhaps that is one of the most beautiful parts of getting older.
You begin to realize life is less about accumulating things and more about the experiences with people who are also recognizing the value of time shared through experiences.
This past month has reminded me how fortunate I am to walk through life beside a good group of family and friends, even if only for part of the journey.
Exploring Castelbuono and the Flower Festival
After picking up my niece in Catania, we returned to Castelbuono with the goal of having a gelato, but really to explore this town and see the Flower Festival get set up!
Infiorata di Castelbuono, often called the Castelbuono Flower Festival
This is one of the most colourful and beloved events in Sicily’s Madonie Mountains. Held each year in late May or early June, the festival transforms the medieval streets of Castelbuono into a vast outdoor art gallery made entirely from flowers. The heart of the event is Via Sant’Anna, a picturesque street beneath the historic Castello dei Ventimiglia, where artists, volunteers, school groups, and local associations create enormous floral carpets known as infiorate.
Thousands of fresh flower petals—especially carnations and gerberas—are carefully arranged alongside wheat stalks, leaves, soil, fennel, daisies, and other natural materials gathered from the Madonie countryside. The result is a series of intricate images that often reflect religious, cultural, or historical themes. Each year features a different theme, giving visitors a new experience every time they attend.
What makes Castelbuono’s Infiorata especially memorable is its strong sense of community. Residents spend days preparing the designs and often work through the night to complete the floral masterpieces before visitors arrive. The festival also includes traditional music, folklore performances, Sicilian music parades, local food tastings, concerts, workshops, and guided tours of the town’s monuments and museums.
For visitors, the festival is much more than a flower show. It is a celebration of art, faith, tradition, and community spirit, set against the backdrop of one of Sicily’s most beautiful mountain towns. The fragrances of fresh flowers, the colours of the floral carpets, and the warmth of the local people combine to create an experience that captures the essence of Castelbuono and the Madonie region.
A Reflection on the Month of May
As I sit watching the evening sun settle over the hills surrounding our home in the Sicilian countryside, I find myself reflecting on how May somehow felt both incredibly busy and surprisingly long — while also disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The month seemed to revolve around one theme: time.
Time with our mothers. Time with nieces and nephews who somehow transform from little kids into little adults. Time with old friends who still tell the same stories from twenty-five years ago, although the details become slightly more heroic with each retelling.
The older I get, the more I realize that life isn’t measured by how much we accomplish, but by who we share it with.
Sicily seems to understand this instinctively. A chess match becomes a three-hour conversation. A dinner stretches late into the evening. An entire community spends days creating beautiful floral artwork that will be gone a week later.
Perhaps that’s the lesson May offered.
The moments that matter most are rarely the ones we plan. They are usually the simple ones that quietly remind us how fortunate we are to spend our time with good people.
And if getting older has taught me anything, it’s this: the calendar moves far too quickly, the conversations never last long enough, and nobody in the family can agree on what actually happened anyway.
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