It’s a beautiful, yet very hot, Saturday afternoon. I’m sitting with the a/c on debating on opening a bottle of wine. White wine. Specifically Chardonnay. It’s a personal favorite white wine of mine. My favorite red wine? Melbec. I’m sure just like everyone else, we’re all armchair experts in various types of alcohols and new concoctions at this point. We have managed to learn how to turn just about anything – including pickle juice – as a mixer. I’ve seen cocktails with pickle juice and whiskey. It’s gross but I understand. We’ve been in the middle of a hellish pandemic and some will soothe any way they can. No judgements.

With all that’s going on during this time period, one constant making its presence known is Love. Not the superficial kind where you lock eyes in a crowded bar and the old creature lust takes over any kind of rational thought you once had in your mind. I’m talking about actual love that is filled with compassion, devotion, and forgiveness. The real stuff that greeting cards and cheesy movie channels have been trying to recreate through the eons unsuccessfully (or successfully depending on how you look at it). The kind of love that can make 20 years feel like a short moment in time and forever not long enough.

Just like wine, the longer you allow yourself to build a life with another person, the more rewarding the relationship has the potential to become. This, of course, all depends on how you maintain things. If you’ve ever been to a winery, you are able to learn how closely the makers monitor the growth of the grapes. They spend years ensuring everything down to the minute detail of the Ph balance of the soil is a perfect environment so the grapes grow in perfect maturity. They wait for that perfect moment to pick said grapes to start the process of turning the fruit into what we casually grab off the shelf. It’s incredible how much effort goes into each bottle. Some take that for granted because they assume it’s easy to make your own wine at home. How many times have you actually had good tasting homemade wine? I doubt you could count the amount of times on one hand.

My favorite part of touring winerys and doing tastings is the passion these owners have for their craft. That same pride and passion is what makes a successful relationship shine brightly to others. The complementary mixture of pride and passion is evident with these special couples too. Sometimes we think it’s fake. We think there’s no way those two people are that happy. Or it may encourage some to want a taste of what they’re perceiving as perfection. They don’t realize the effort both people are putting into maintaining their relationship. The years it took to make it look like things are running on autopilot. These outsiders often ignore the fact that the seemly perfect couple works hard on themselves individually as well. They work hard on a regular basis to maintain that level of respect, not only of themselves but for the other person, and most importantly, commit themselves to their future together. Just like the grape, these two people have spent years learning how to grow themselves within the right soil. They learned when to toss away any item that would only spoil the vintage. There is a maturity between these two that others only dream about yet these others don’t realize if they are willing to invest the time and do the proper work, they too can have the same thing.

It’s funny. We hear that a lot: But if you do the work… or Where are these perfect partners?

The truth is, they are everywhere in our every day lives. You may meet them walking in the park, at the grocery store, or through a good friend. It’s up to the both of you to learn who each of you are. Learn what makes you happy, what you do and don’t want, the secret desires that no one would ever know (unless you’re into it), and learn how you both are willing to invest in each other so that when forever comes, you’re still smiling at each other ready to spend the next lifetime together.

I invite you to open your own bottle with your loved one and share how much you mean to each other. Life may not feel very short but it goes by quickly. Never leave a moment left silent when it can be filled with joy.

Cheers!