We met on this Saturday 15 years ago. Not you and I of course, but I and the lovely Sharon.
I remember. It was the first day of orientation at grad school and I sat next to the beautiful woman who would change my life; who would later become my wife. In 2007, as part of a letter that would change me forever, she wrote three simple words: "Be safe Brian". When I read that letter I realized that my life would always be incomplete without her.
In the years afterwards, Sharon taught me the meaning of honesty, commitment, integrity, strength, love, and hard work. Sharon is by far the best thing to ever happen to me and I am so grateful that they did not accept my application till the fourth try at Georgetown. Three would have been too soon. Five and I would have missed her.
Contrary to popular opinion, dumb luck infuses much of what we do. Those who know me well and long are not surprised by this. For example, a simple thing: the parking gods journey with me every time I visit the city. It amazes and amuses the lovely Sharon.
Now I'm going to share with you a little secret. Making wine and owning a winery is also about luck. I think that we need to use our luck when we have it. One should prepare for its inevitable arrival and then organize the conditions of ability and desire to maximize luck's impact and benefits. We launch upon its crest...and we ride it until it dissipates...like a wave under the rider on his board. And when luck is done, we should allow the ebb to carry us back out a ways. To live lucky you have to accept its absence as if it were an ebb and a flow rather than a fleeting or a superstitious thing - not to be spoken of for fear of its departure. In much the same way, this means that to achieve you have to become comfortable with failure. And to love you have to accept loss.
The day that Sharon came into my life she made all of this possible. All of it. She made the balance of my life possible. The balance of the vine; the balance of the wine. Balance in one's dreams and their realization. Starting a winery requires an understanding of the balance between the possible and the impossible, between the desirable and undesirable, between the luck and its absence.
Yesterday Sharon began the harvest and today she is tired, but she is happy. Sharon married me 10 years ago this September. I think that my favorite part of that wonderful weekend was when we broke down sobbing and laughing tears of joy during the rehearsal. Afterwards, we went home to our little house in Arlington, a Honda and a pickup truck, and our dear golden Bogart S'notworth. We had joy and many friends. Ten years ago. It takes a fair bit of luck...good fortune...what have you my friends; as well as realizing the power of luck and having the good fortune to be able to work hard and to prepare for providence by mixing in a little bit of vision. And so, the dream of the winery becomes real!
This year's harvest is ten years in the making and a lifetime in the loving with my beloved Sharon. I really am a lucky man.
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You can find Brian Roeder and his wife Sharon at their winery, Barrel Oak Winery, in Delaplane, Virginia. As the Virginia Field Editor for Winedustry, Brian reports news, information, commentary and the happenings from his vantage point in Virginia.
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