BOW Holidays

We hope that this is the wonder-full time of year for you. We are still recovering from the work load and doing well after an extraordinary summer and fall at the winery. Our staff and customers have given us so much support as we have worked to improve the winery at every step. Of course, the holidays are always a mixed bag of joy and life's challenges. I continue to exercise Sharon's nearly unlimited patience and how she puts up with me I really don't know. Around us are so many friends, some of whom face extraordinary challenges with moving dignity. I opened a photo card yesterday from a couple; friends we last saw here at the winery in August. When they visited us they'd clearly had a very tough year. He is a very strong man who'd been greatly weakened by chemo. Seeing them together with her helping him walk brought tears to my eyes. While I felt true joy as we each hugged one another, I was also deeply saddened by the toll the cancer had taken on them both. So imagine my happiness upon receiving their holiday photo card yesterday. The shot showsthem sitting in their pool in Florida. They have big smiles and they both look great! I have the photo here in front of me and I can't stop smiling. It was great seeing them in that photo. It was great to learn that they have regained their strength and together emerged from a difficult period.

Of course it's no great insight on my part to share with you that life offers good times and bad. But as I grow older I become more aware of the dignity with which so many of our friends face life's challenges. Trying to put my feelings into words now about these friends I am inspired by their strength and essential humanity expressed in the face of our shared mortality. I guess what I want to share with you is that for me this season is essentially about the dignity, the strength, and the humanity found in the full embrace of life. Sharon and I hope that all of these things completely fill your life and the lives of those you love this holiday season.