Unplugging

The last few weeks for us (me and my family) have for some reason been really rough.

As with many people, I'm not sure if it is the time of year when we start to get on everyone's nerves because we want to get outside and enjoy summer, but can't because Mother Nature isn't agreeing with our timelines.

My two kids have also been driving us a bit coo coo the last little while as well. More than the usual kid stuff too.  From having to deal with a broken leg on a 5 year old and a pre-tween going on 16, all I can say is ARRRRGHHH!!!

It got to the point on the weekend where we had to literally "pull the plug" on TV for a week.

How is a glass of wine going to help me with that?

Do I drink 3, 4, or 5 glasses until I'm so tired and can't function and drift off into a seemingly wonderful slumber, until the next morning? Well, I'm not 20 any more and can't handle the next mornings as well as I used to. So no, I don't do that.

But, here is what I have started trying to do every chance I can.

Once the kids have gone to bed and things are quiet, for at least a bit, I will grab my glass of wine and sit outside on our front porch. No laptop, no iPad, no BlackBerry. Just a blanket and my glass of wine.

Taking that 5 minutes or more to "unplug" has been the most calming and also inspiring time I have had in quite a while. Occasionally having a chat with a neighbour as they walk by, and watching the leaves try and squeeze their way out of the branches.

For those few minutes, sitting and reflecting on the day, and sipping my favourite red has made me appreciate the day, as crazy as it may have been.

The leaves trying to squeeze out!

Now I know why the "older generation" sat on the porch and just sat.

Enjoy a glass.
Matt

Having a Glass of Wine with the One You Love

I want to start off by saying that I am the luckiest guy in the world. Yes, I really am.

Back in 1997 I was given the opportunity to go to an event at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra called Classic Network. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about the night, but it was when I was singing in a chamber choir (Yes I did that. That in itself is another blog post.) and a free ticket to the symphony and free drinks to boot was so it an awesome night out.

 Little did I know that it was really singles night at the symphony. A big "any way", I had a very brief conversation with one of the staff members working at the event about my other favourite libation, gin.

15 years and 2 kids later I am lucky enough to still enjoy sharing a bottle of wine with the one that I truly love. We don't have a special bottle, variety, or vintage of wine that we keep going back to, and in fact, she is reaping the rewards of me buying most of the wine in the house. I'm totally good with it too.

But one of the things I enjoy most is sitting down for a great meal or even sitting on our front porch and talking over a great glass of wine.

There is something about how a glass can make the conversation more meaningful and bring back some wonderful memories. I want a lot more memories to come and be able to reminisce over many more.

So next time you open a bottle of wine, ask yourself this. Is the person that I am sharing this a friend or something more?

Friends are awesome, but if that person is something more, hold on to them and make sure you do everything in your power to show them how important they really are.

Be sure to tell them that over your next glass.

So enjoy a glass with someone you love, like I am lucky enough to do.
Matt

Wine Doesn't Fix Everything

This week was probably the most trying week I have had in the last year at work.

I have been working for the last 18 years in the safety industry. I'm currently in an amazing role and doing what would be my second choice as a career. Wine being the first.  During these last 18 years, there have been both good times and bad times. I have been through a number of company re-organizations and come out unscathed.  As everyone knows that the world economy is on the edge of a knife. One slip either way and you could end up slashed and fall into a ramekin of salt.

I was fortunate enough, this go round, to keep my position and have a manager that I actually can trust to keep me in the loop as much as he can. However, one of my colleagues was not so lucky. Not because of his abilities, but simply about numbers. That in itself is enough to make your nerves go into overdrive.

Unfortunately, another friend and colleague at work was also let go. For some reason this one hit me harder than the one in my department. Maybe because she is a friend and not 20 minutes before she was called into the conference room, I told her what my manager told me. "She is with a growing department and if she keep things up, she should be ok."

Now that makes me feel great. Relaying the information that I was just told to my friend from a manger. (Yes I still trust him, as he admitted to me that he didn't have the full picture.)

Here is the reality about the whole thing. No-one in the world knows what is going to happen over the next few months and there isn't anything that anyone can do about it.

I'm not going to go into the whole Occupy protests and my opinion on that, but maybe they do have a point even if they are going about it in the completely wrong approach.

So how did or do I cope with the situation? I made the statement on Twitter that "Lay-offs SUCK" and the overwhelming response was to drink some wine!

That was my initial response as well. And boy did I, but here is what I learned about the situation.
I wasn't drinking the wine to get totally wasted, or even to get a buzz on. The reason I was drinking wine was for an escape. The feeling of drinking a good glass of wine brought me back into a place where I could reflect on the things that really matter to me. I allowed me to take a few minutes to look at exactly what I have. I have a family that is amazing, a home that is better than I ever imagined, and the opportunity to be able to sit and reflect.

It took me 48 hours for that to really sink in. Did I have too much to drink? No. Was I planning on drinking a lot more? No doubt.

What I have come to the conclusion to in a situation like that is, you need to take a step back, try to put your emotions in check, and look at the situation. Sometimes it may take a catalyst for you to do that, but do it. It seemed to have worked for me.

I'm looking forward to going back to work on Monday and being back on my game after a couple of really hard days.

So please, enjoy a glass and take the time to reflect on what that glass of wine really means to YOU and what it can actually do to help.
Matt