The editor of a glossy lifestyle magazine, and his photographer, are coming to my house for dinner tomorrow night.
Really. It’s true.
Am I nervous? Well yes, a little. And also a little excited. And then back to nervous.
Of course, this is just the kind of thing that, as the PR person for my winery, I am always on the lookout for – indeed, I work toward. Can you do a feature story on the family-style dinners I make for our Harvest Crew every night? Yes, please!
I’d like to think I’m totally cool and blasé about something like this – and usually I am. Come on in, the more the merrier!
But the truth is, there is another side to this. Talk about being on display! A perfect reminder of how many projects around the house I’ve shoved to the back burner in the last several years. Further fueled by the fact that I have read way too many Martha Stewart magazines in my life. That part of my brain does this:
Really? Here? In our house? I mean, our house is lovely and cozy – if I do say so myself – but it’s no show piece. And we do have people over all the time, for gatherings large and small – but they’re our friends. To have a photographer come in here and take pictures, and then subsequently publish them in this magazine? Um, okay. Gulp.
Is it possible to get the floors refinished before they get here? How about changing those living room curtains I’ve never really loved? Do I have the right tablecloth? I have to get all those Halloween decorations down. . . .
These are just some of the thoughts that are running through my head, since I learned these gentlemen were coming. And, of course, I’ve been talking about it with my family. The other day my 14 year-old son said, “Well Mom, if these guys are coming here, does that mean that we have to get everything all cleaned up and be on our best behavior and everything?” And I said “Well, yes. It does.” His response, “But Mom, that’s not who we really are.”
Good point. Damn those kids, they sure will force you to take a good look at yourself every once in awhile. And of course, my motto with my kids and also with my business is “Be Authentic.”
I thought for a minute and then replied with, “Honey, think of it this way, we want them to see who we really are, but on our very best day.”
Many people think making wine is oh-so romantic and glamorous. And that our lives are made up of endless bottles of wine and gourmet meals. When we travel we eat in celebrated restaurants and go to stimulating wine tastings, when at home we throw together impromptu, lovely parties in our bucolic garden. All this while we wait for the many bottles of wine in our picturesque cellar to age. Some of that is true. This is a job with great perks, and we did get into it because we love food, wine, travel and entertaining. But the other truth is, it’s also work. Hard, and often very un-romantic work.
We have employees to manage, banks to negotiate with, a commodity to sell and taxes to pay. And at home we have laundry to fold, homework to oversee and bills to pay, to say the least.
Do they really want to come in here and see all that? Probably not. Everyone else has that in their house too. You don’t have to buy a $5 magazine to see that stuff. So, we’ll all play our role, and accentuate the positive. We’ll show the world a little bit of why we do this crazy thing we do – making wine and sharing it with the people we care about. Preferably around a table with good food, good conversation, and kids who don’t talk back.
Wish me luck!
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