History.  It teaches us.  It reminds us. It brings us back.  It also makes us smile.  Twenty-two years ago today . . . yes, that would be 1991 . . . we welcomed the newest member of the family.  (No. . .it wasn’t another dog–or a cat for that matter!)  Daughter #1 came into this world 22 years ago today and for the record – Motown was cranked up in the background, and as parents go – just being a little biased – we were smitten from the moment she came into this world.  She doesn’t know it, but Brian was there to hold her first . . . to weigh her . . . to help put her next to her Mom.  It was in one word – AWESOME!  It brings tears to his eyes to this day.  For Mom, the incredible joy of holding a daughter – gave her a sense of  what it must have been like for her Mom 31 years before.  Life Is Amazing when you sit back and think about it.

And, what becomes of a young lady who clearly and completely stole our hearts?  Who was clearly in control as a baby – but didn’t know it?  With both parents working, memories flood back to rocking in the chair with the bottle in hand while one gets ready for work and then the roles are switched as we prepare the diaper bag, plenty of bottles for the day, all of the ‘In Case of Emergency’ notes . . . and then, BAM off to daycare.  Could it be that six weeks went by like a blink of an eye?  Yes it did – and so did the next 22 years.  Rolling over, crawling, the first steps  . . . they all come so fast – and ONLY ONCE!!  Special moments?  You’d better believe it.  Little things like that are taken for granted – maybe even ignored today, but we craved the chance to see the one or two things that – once they happened – we’d NEVER see them again.  If you stop and think about it, the number of these amazing – once in a lifetime opportunities that our children give us-are lost in the day-to-day living and GONE forever.  Learning how to use a spoon, learning how to take her first steps, learning to talk (at 10 months and it hasn’t stopped yet!!!!) these are the little miracles that are laid before our feet as parents and what we CHOOSE to do with them, remains in our hearts for the rest of our lives.  And that’s before BARNEY!!!

Because what happens next is life – yep, kindergarten, grade school, girl scouts (thanks, Mom), middle school, boys . . . and then CELL PHONES, iPods, parties, friends,high school, jobs, driver’s training, driver’s license (YIKES!), cars, boys, dates, concerts, and suddenly – – – graduation!  The train gets going so fast that we forget to enjoy the ride.  We forget to let the horn blare out – – – this is OUR KID!  And–so we stop and take a deep breath and SMILE.

Today, 22 years ago . . . our family started . . . and THE FAMILY is getting better and better each and every day!

We needed to break out a wine that was special for today, so we found a really nice, but young (funny how that works!), 2010 Castiglioni Chianti, in honor of Daughter #1’s birthday and a remembrance of her trip to Italy this past May.  Since the wine was so young (hmmm, common theme developing here), we decided to decanter it while we created an amazing feast of corn tortillas, lightly fried in oil to give them a fine crunch; paired with the finest of prepared cheese and diced tomatoes with green chiles.  It was a feast that could only be made better by a fine wine.  Funny as it may seem, this wine was delicious.  It was fruity–as you’d expect from a young chianti, but it also had structure and body that reminded us of bigger, bolder wines.  Decantering the wine gave it a chance to open up and the aroma was superb.  From the wine maker, “The color is a purple red with violet reflections. On the nose, cherry is prevalent followed by strawberry and raspberry with floral sensations of rose and classic sugared almond. The palate is soft, warm, vinous, pleasantly balanced. The finish is persistent, with round notes that return to cherry in the aftertaste.” 

Normally,  we laugh at reviews like this, but in the case of this wine – SPOT ON! At a price less than $15 a bottle ( on sale) you’ll be  hard-pressed to find an Italian wine that’s this good and yet so young.  We’ve enjoyed big-dog Barolo’s for way more money, but in the short term they couldn’t measure up to this Chianti.  You might want to get a hold of this wine before it gets better as it ages – and that means the price will keep going UP!

Birthday wishes . . . to Daughter #1.  You came into our lives at the perfect moment in time – – as laid out by the Good Lord.  And, even though your parents brought you home from the hospital – laid you down on the couch (next to Calvert The Dog) and proceeded to look at each other and wonder when the parents were going to come home to claim you!  YOU have grown into an AMAZING young woman with a passion for life and a gift that can only be appreciated by those who LOVE YOU.  Cheers Lo!  We Love You!

If you have a son or daughter, raise a glass to them, because they are our future – your future – and you gave them your world!

Enjoy your favorite wine responsibly and remember to recycle whenever possible.