Following Karen’s heartfelt post last night, I would like to start tonight with a few comments of my own.
When you’re in your 40’s and find yourself single, all new people you meet bring a history with them. At the time Karen and I met, we had both been through a lot. Everybody has at this age. Almost always, there was an ex in the equation. I could easily deal with the exes that were complete shit. How easy is that? But what I hadn’t had experience with is coming into a relationship where the ex was wonderful. I will admit it was scary!
I have learned a lot about Mark over the years. While I never knew him, I am certain we would have gotten along. We did not share the same interests. We probably didn’t share common goals. But we shared a love of living and, more importantly, the love of an amazing woman. It is not fair that his life was cut short, but the love he showed to Karen is evident in our lives together. I don’t have to “compete” with Mark. But for me, I want to honor the memory of what he meant to Karen (and let’s not forget his nieces that he adored completely!) by being the person they deserve. I hope to live up to that, if nothing else.
Back to Willamette…
When I woke up this morning I thought, “There is NO WAY I can drink wine again today.” I wasn’t drunk yesterday nor was I hungover this morning. But after so much wine yesterday I knew there was no way I could drink again today.
Until, of course, we arrived Stoller, our first stop of the day. When we were seated on the patio with a full hillside of vino-on-the-vine in front of us and a cold glass of bubbly on the table, I knew I was going to be just fine. Stoller is a huge winery, far bigger than anywhere we were yesterday. And they sell a couple of their wines retail, meaning we could actually find them at home. Nonetheless, we were excited to continue the tasting.
The wine flight poured for us was wonderful! We loved both sparkling wines as well as their Pinot offerings. And since it was our first tasting of the day, and we were stone sober, we knew our instincts were spot on. It was a very lovely experience! We ended up leaving with 12 bottles. Poor Livvy is going to labor under the weight of our grapes when we head home to Cleveland. Not to mention the space we’ll need to make in our wine racks.
After a quick PB&J in Livvy, we headed to Durant Vineyards for our second tasting. The tasting room was set on a ridge overlooking the valley and was the perfect place to drink wine. To be fair, there are few places that are NOT perfect for drinking wine. Maybe on the toilet, but that’s about it.
The Pinot Noir Rose at Durant was incredible!! One of the best I’ve ever had. And I am not usually a Rose drinker. But this one was beyond amazing. A few bottles will be making their way to Bay Village.
And now we sit outside Livvy in the cool Oregon evening air. There is a hint of pot blowing around. Helicopters buzz overhead from the flight school across the road. Thursday Night Football is on the iPad between us. Drinks are in hand, neither of which is wine. Karen is reading a book. I am both lucky and privileged to be right here, right now, sharing life with her. I only hope Mark would be content seeing the joy she has in life.
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