This year was eventful! Our twin daughters both completed medical school. Mom won her first triathlon after overcoming a bout with pneumonia. Our rescue dog is a joy. The grandkids are all thriving in Arizona and I keep hoping for that Pulitzer nomination. Not really. All of this is fiction but we do seem to receive cards that proclaim another year of monumental success. Bring it on. I love Christmas cards even if some bragging is involved.
Better some bragging than a card that says, "It was an eventful year. Jimmy is finally out on parole although we are not sure where he is nowadays. Dad lost his job and the prospects are looking dim."
Each year in our own card we try to capture a family photo with spotty success. I don't believe our far-flung friends and relatives want to see how much more gray hair I've grown or how much weight I've gained, so the four kids are always the center of our holiday photo. But just the kids aren't enough; we try to capture the entire essence of our life here through the photo of the card. That could mean the kids are standing in front of the big tree that fell down in the last storm and broke the main water line. It could mean everyone is holding a rubber replica of a bat or wearing Batman shirts to symbolize the bats that continue to fly around in the house. Once I had the idea of each of the kids pretending they were drinking a bottle of wine standing in front of an empty Chardonnay tank. In keeping with the spirit of the holiday and my interest in staying out of jail for corrupting minors, none of these card ideas saw the light of the post office.
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The kids are good sports about it all. As we add more people to the photo, it only gets better. Someday they won't want to sit still for the photo so I appreciate their willingness to participate in the tradition.
Consider a holiday card as a small gift to be enjoyed by those with whom you have crossed paths over the years. So this column, dear readers, is my Christmas card to each of you. I hope it captures all the good wishes of a perfect holiday in the wine country.
During this holiday season
May your electricity stay on, especially when you are not home and your freezer is full of ice cream;
May the big winery next door spray sulphur only when your windows are closed;
May your water pressure stay strong, especially when you're in the shower;
May all the beautiful wildlife stay outside of your house;
May you not be stuck in road closures on Highway 29 or Silverado Trail;
May your alarm only go off when there is a real danger;
May your 2024 vintage exceed all expectations;
May the heavy rains fill up your well, not your basement;
May your gifts from others include wine, even if you own a winery;
May the fires of the past be a memory of good neighbors, not tragedy;
May the tourists who take "influencer" photos not be annoying;
May you take advantage of all the special activities in the wine country, including mud baths;
May the gophers move next door;
May Santa bring you one of those perfect vintage cars so often seen parked downtown;
May you take time to enjoy your family in this beautiful place;
May you realize how lucky we are to be in a place where people come from all over the world to see and do what we enjoy all the time;
And may you have a very, very happy holiday.
Rich Moran is a wine country local who tries to keep the holiday spirit all year long.
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