Protect the Dinner Table - A Toast with German Wine

I'm not going to lie, I never drank German bubbles before but mixed with fresh peach juice how bad could it be.  At least that was my original thinking when I decided to hand my home guests bellinis to drink.  An Italian classic, perfect for this warm summer night.  Sweet and bubbly and sticky the drink perhaps wasn't the best choice for the new table.

I wasn't interested in having a table but my wife thought it proper.  When my sister's table needed a new home how could I say no. 

It is a beautiful sturdy table.  Compact enough for the two of us but able to grow with the needs of the family.  It's a great antique table. Recently refinished, the wood sparklers.  At first glance it's hard to see the generations of space that has been shared around that table. 

Watching as my guest interacted with the table, the tipsy scattering of champagne bottle and sticky juice, the disregard for coasters it all became clear.  I had taken on a table.  New to German sparkling wine wasn't the only recent change in my life, I had a table to tend to.

12 months... has it all changed

what was i drinking last night, I don't know.  it was wine.  it was sweet. it bubbled some.  it felt bright in the mouth.  it helped me giggle in these crazy crazy times.

ignoring the problems of the world, absorbed in self, i felt happy

taking work less serious was a joy
being less concerned with what people thought and more engaged with who people are was a relief.

Detached from the struggles around me i lived in a world of bliss.  which seems to be a world far different then the one most of us choose to occupy.  Opening my eyes to the realities of it all perhaps my detachment is part of the problem.

Oil Spills, Dirty Water, Polluted Oceans, a changing climate, drought... but who can focus on these troubles in the face of wars, wars and more WARS.

Sobering, the thoughts of today make the joys of tomorrow a distant idea.  12 months away from it all in bliss.  I need to get back to writing, it seems their is something out there we are all forgetting