About four years ago, I fell in love with a wine after having dinner with my parents and my boyfriend at my happy place. I can remember the moment as if it was yesterday, wondering why all my friends were congregating around the corner of the bar. What was all the fuss about?
All the fuss was about the 2007 Kent Rasmussen Chardonnay from Napa Valley. This Chardonnay had just arrived and everyone was going literally insane over it. One of my friends let me try it and I instantly fell in love.
I remember one of the guys, who later became a good friend of mine, bought an entire case and it just arrived in the shop that day! I went months, close to a year, without knowing/remembering his name, so I just referred to him as Kent.
As time went on, my boyfriend and I became very accustomed to this wine and both enjoyed it immensely. We bought a bottle and I stored it properly, saving it for a special occasion.
Soon this Chardonnay was sold out and I believe Arthur got it back in stock one other time a year later. However, I found out last year that Kent was no longer making a Chardonnay and my heart truly sunk. How grateful I was to have that one bottle of the 2007 vintage. Oftentimes over the years, I thought of opening it but then I had the dilemma of once I opened it, I'd never have it again.
As a result, I didn't open it.... until last night, May 7, 2014.
May 7 doesn't represent a birthday or an anniversary or a death. I didn't get a promotion. I didn't buy a house. I didn't get married. May 7 has no real significance.
May 2 does and May 8 does but not May 7.
Last night, I decided to sautee shrimp with zucchini, squash, tomatoes and onions in olive oil and serve it over angel hair pasta. I decided I wanted to enjoy my dinner outside on my deck and I'd like a nice white wine as well.
I decided that last night was the time to open up that bottle of Chardonnay once and for all.
Sometimes songs invoke a memory or a feeling. Music can literally take me back to a moment in time and make me feel exactly as I felt at that moment. That is exactly what the Kent Rasmussen Chardonnay did to me last night. With every sip, it was like a trip down memory lane. I became very nostalgic; longing for a time ... and a love...that I couldn't get back. Just as with every sip of wine I knew that it would soon be the last sip I'd ever have, the memories also were flooding back but I knew that I had to finally release them as well.
A few years ago, half of my heart was taken from me. In April of last year, I lost the other half.
I have never loved so deeply with all that I am - heart, body, mind and soul - as I did with both of those individuals. Unconditional with no regrets.
If only I could bottle those feelings and moments of my life.
This 2007 Chardonnay represents one of those loves. 2007, the year this wine was produced, is the same year that we fell in love. How ironic? Or is it.....
The opening and enjoying of this wine last night on my own represents a release that I needed.
As I opened that bottle, knowing how special it was and knowing that I'll never be able to have it again, it felt as if I was letting go of a part of my past - a part of my past that needed to be released so that I could finally allow myself to move on.
It was extremely cathartic.
I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason. I also believe that no matter how badly I may want it, things don't happen when I want them to. There is a plan for me and I am only here to do the best I can do with the life I've been given. Every person, every circumstance, every feeling, every decision is part of a plan that is truly out of my control.
Something told me to open that bottle last night and I didn't know why. But it was the best thing I could have done because it gave me "me" back and the tremendous feeling of hope that surrounded me was astounding.
As I finished my meal and walked back into the house, I was stopped in my tracks by one of my favorite songs - a song I don't hear often and a song that made perfect sense at that moment.
Again.... everything happens as it should.....
Nature Boy - Nat King Cole
The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love...
and be loved in return.
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