It’s another Wine Wednesday and that usually means two things: write/post a blog and go to wine school. Today it’s only the blog. School has been canceled for the night and it’s a nice break given the past 8 consecutive Wednesday weeknights. Since it’s been almost a year ago that I started taking wine classes through WSET, it feels like an appropriate chance to reflect.
For several years, I knew I wanted to learn more about wine. After having “wine school” on my bucket list AGAIN, I took action and enrolled. Since then, I have enjoyed going to school about once a week. I have learned about the systematic approach to wine tasting, major grape varieties, large wine regions, and much much more. A year later and well into my Level 3 studies, I can say that I have learned a lot and I can see even more clearly now how much I really don’t know about wine still.
It feels good as a stay-at-home-mom to have a “personal project” and feel like I am investing in myself, my interests. As a SAHM, I spend my day focusing on Pumpkin Pie and Meatball. Shuttling them to school, really thinking about what activities they should do, listening about their day, playing with them, taking care of every odd and end imaginable in running the house and so much more. It is such a rewarding job to do on most days, but I think since starting Mommelier and going to wine school, I’ve been better at being a SAHM. Firmly carving out these dedicated hours to study and personal amusement has helped me show my kids and myself that I am not just “mommy,” but a woman with personal interests and “ambitions.” I had heard this advice a lot before kids and before starting Mommelier, but I often found it an elusive set of words to accomplish.
Almost a year into this project, I am glad I started exploring my interest in wine and writing. Overall, I am happy to keep it going. Sure there are weeks where I really just want to stay home and slip into my pajamas and sip a glass of wine with John next to me instead of looking at my six samples of wine over a white backdrop. There are weeks where I haven’t had much time to write anything and I feel bad. I still don’t have the time to make this a “big” project. There are so many things I want to do more for Mommelier or simply do better. I have come to accept “such is life” and instead of counting my “I didn’ts,” I am counting my “at least I did’s.”
While this project has been good for me as a mother, being a mother has been good for me about being less critical of others and myself. Another gift that motherhood has given me is realizing that what makes me and my family happy is the right thing for me. So, at the year point, I am pretty sure I want to keep up the Mommelier project as long as it continues to make me happier, which in turn makes my family better, and I’m sticking to the SAHM gig for the time being.
Swirl, sip, sigh…deep stuff.
Image “Railway” by Teeratas available on freedigitalphotos.net
