The 1% of the 1%

 

A little less than two years ago, during his final semester of college, our not so little guy sent me a text saying he had exciting news to share with us when we came down that weekend to watch his lacrosse game. Now, this was a Tuesday or Wednesday which meant that I wasn’t going to hear the “exciting news” until the weekend!! Anyone that has been a mom knows this is torture. I asked if he couldn’t tell me now and the answer was, “I want to tell you in person!”

So for days, my guy and I discussed what it may be. My guy was positive that our not-so-little guy had joined or was joining the military.

"Really??" I said. "You think that's the exciting news?" It didn't sound exciting at all to me!

Even though he was in his last semester of college and had done a great job as a student, our not-so-little guy had never had a clear vision for what career he wanted. He just knew that he didn’t want to sit at a desk or do the same thing everyday. So with excitement, he told us, “I’ve finally decided what I want to do with my life!” He proceeded to explain that he wanted to be part of a very elite group of the United States Air Force - Special Warfare. Was I excited about the choice? Not especially, because I am his mom and moms worry! But I was super excited for him because for the first time, he was excited about his decision and his direction.

Proud Grandparents

He had already begun the physical training process on his own because to even be considered for Special Warfare, minimum physical requirements had to be met. He graduated from college in May, trained through summer, met the requirements and left for basic training November 14, 2023. After completing basic training, the hard part began. He made it through the eight weeks of extensive and intense physical training of a Special Warfare Candidate Course to prepare him for the next phase. A large number of candidates quit during this phase because of the pressure and the intensity of the training. Those that make it though go on the selection process for their specific Special Warfare job.  

The selection process for these jobs is, in my words, “Insane, brutal, and nothing a mom wants their child to go through.” Objectives have to be met or you’re out! Physical demands have to be met, or you’re out! Mental stress has to be overcome or you’re out! Academic tests have to be passed, or you’re out! Setbacks happen and you either choose to endure and preserve or quit. My not-so-little guy was determined and that is what makes me so proud! I truly don’t care what job my children choose - I want them to be happy. But what makes me so, so proud is that when obstacles are encountered, when demands and expectations seem unbearable, when setbacks occur more than once - they persevere, they don’t give up, they pursue their goal! 

Today, all of that perseverance and stick-to-it-ness came together for my not-so-little guy! Today was his beret ceremony, which marks the official beginning of his Special Warfare career, and we all came to celebrate and support him. He has made it through one of the most difficult processes that most can’t even comprehend. A little less than 1% of the United States population chooses to join the military. Out of that 1%, a little less than 1% of those people make it through the process to become part of the United States Air Force Special Warfare. 

The 12 graduates

Today, we celebrated with my not-so-little guy. We celebrated his hard work, his perseverance, his determination to meet a goal. No matter what the goal, it’s the qualities it takes to get there that are worth celebrating! 

Congratulations Airman Patterson, TACP! You most definitely earned that beret - wear it proudly! You are officially part of the 1% of the 1%.

Italia... Lago Como

 

Driving toward Lake Como was just beautiful! We left the Cinque Terre and continued up the coast going through Genoa. The mountains were stunning! We came out of those mountains around the west side of Milan and then the closer we got to Lake Como the larger the mountains rose again!

These shots were taken through the car window.

We drove up the eastern side of the lake because we were staying in the village of Vareena. It was a beautiful little town right on the water with a great walkway right at the edge of the lake. It was the perfect side of the lake to be on to see the sunset views! Our place was an adorable home with a beautiful courtyard/patio area which they used to serve us breakfast each morning. The Villa Vareena even had a resident puppo! He was a Boston Terrier named Roosevelt after the US president, although I not sure which president - we just assumed it was Teddy. Our terrace was a great space with beautiful views! Our first evening we spent some time in the town, on our terrace and had dinner by the water.

Our Terrace

Roosevelt the Boston Terrier.

Dinner view

Vareena is one of the villages of the lake on a ferry stop. The ferry is a great transport option to the towns along Lake Como. After a patio breakfast at our place the next morning, we got a day pass for the ferry and our first stop was Menaggio. It was a little bigger than Vareena and seemed to have a little more options in regard to restaurants and shopping. We spent some time walking the historical walk in the town and then we stopped at a cafe for tiramisu!

Villa Vareena

Beautiful little letter slots were all over Italy. 

Our breakfast table setting

Spotted on our walk to the ferry

Spotted in Menaggio

Old, old streets

Yes, they drive cars on these old tiny streets

Look what I found!!!

A Little Free Library!

Tiramisu

We hopped back on the ferry and rode it to the end of our ticket to Argegno. Lake Como is shaped with a large section at the top and then two leg-like sections at the bottom. At the split is the very popular Bellagio. Argegno is a little further south down the western leg side. Once there we had about an hour until we caught the ferry back to Vareena so we sat at a cafe, had a snack and watched many travelers go by. 

Argegno in the distance

At the cafe watching travelers go by - this was actually a very busy street. I just snapped the pic in between cars and people.

Lake Como is approximately 56 square miles and around 1300 feet deep at its deepest part. The day on the water was hot, but beautiful! Next trip, we rent our own boat! There's no denying how beautiful Lake Como is. The water, the mountains, the homes...

A view of Vareena from the ferry

The port side of Vareena

You can see a tiny portion of our Villa Vareena (white building) just above the ferry and slightly to the left.

So many beautiful colors

You can see the mechanism created to carry materials up to the house that they are working on.

I spy a chapel! - Look closely!!

A diving board in the lake - you had to swim to the diving board and climb up. Not sure who this is but they were enjoying the board.

I loved the stripe created by the cliff ridge.

Mountain views

Cloud shadows on the hills

Cemetery and you can see some modern homes just above it.

Something like this would have been my pick. 

I loved how the homes appear to crawl up the side of the hill.

This was the largest home we saw on our journey - I am sure there are bigger though.

So many bell towers!

We had reservations for dinner at a restaurant that was just a short walk from our Villa Vareena. The views from the restaurant were stunning! And the food was spectacular! It was one of my top 3 meals during our trip. 

My Ravioli was filled with Lake Perch and covered in a sage butter sauce. Delicious!!

The next morning we headed to the ferry to put the car on the boat. There are three locations on the lake that offer car ferry service - Vareena, Menaggio, and Bellagio. We wanted to ferry to Bellagio and drive toward Milan from the western side of the lake for different views from our arrival. We got off the ferry in Bellagio and headed toward Nesso. Once in Nesso, in an effort to look for interesting views, we got sidetracked up the mountainside and since it was so difficult on the small roads to turn around and back track, we just followed the re-route of the GPS over the 4000 elevation mountain! The views were beautiful!

Views of Vareena from the walkway.

The walkway along the water in Vareena. It was funny how the tree limb was just growing over the walkway.

On the ferry - it was a bit of an odd sensation since we couldn't see the front of the boat.

We begin to climb

We are the blue dot - the elevation reached almost 4000 ft. So many cyclist riding up the mountain!

Mountain views

Next stop - Milan!