Last night, Doug and I were watching Stanley Tucci’s, Searching For Italy. I could watch that show all day long! This particular episode was about Venice—a city built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges—which is almost incomprehensible to me.

Tucci visits a nearby vineyard. The winemaker talked about how the harsh conditions of their location “stress the vines.” In winemaking, “stressing the vines” is a good thing. It’s all about starving the vines of water or various nutrients in the soil so that all the energy (sugar) the vine can produce goes toward the grapes and not the shoots or the leaves. Of course, this is a fine line; too much of a struggle for the vines is not a good thing either. The struggling vines made me think of you and me.

Nothing good comes easy, right? Or so they say. I want us to embrace the winemaking process today and to see ourselves in the vines. The vines may not like the additional struggle, but it forces the vines to focus on what matters. It improves the outcome. And if you’re feeling a little bit like a vine right now, it’s O.K. Really good things are coming even if you can’t fully see that right now. You’re a beautiful Brunello de Montalcino in the making!

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!

Beth