Despite everyone’s longing for that great NYE experience to always remember (or at least it seems so), most people don’t hit that highmark. I call NYE the great wannabee event.
In all my time on this earth, I have had a handful of these, but I am quite surprised to say that the one just passed ranks among them. It has been a difficult year here at the Cool Water Ranch, as many know. Thinking about leaving the house was out of the question. The change from Daylight Savings Time has rendered us homebound after 5pm.
And there was no real need to leave, even to get champagne. Over the years Tom has accumulated many fine bottles of wine and spirits and champagne. I am not a drinker, and a lot of this has not been drunk. (A big regret of mine.) So this year I decided to not go out to purchase any mediocre champagne, but to find a truly great one right here and open it. For just the two of us. Why not? I finally asked myself, “What are we waiting for?”
The first bottle that surfaced was a beautiful bottle of Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame. And then I noticed that half of the bottle had evaporated, with the seal intact. Definitely a bad sign. I was determined to see what it was like anyway, so I had to open the cage with pliers, because it had somehow rusted. The foil seal and cork conspired to disintegrate into rusty sludge. I could hardly wait to see what was inside.
I was worried about it all exploding, (proving my ignorance in these matters) but there was absolutely no pressure. Nothing left to this sad bottle of what was probably at one time a great champagne. I poured it and realized its brown color did not portend well. It tasted like vinegar, so it will become part of salad dressings. There is champagne vinegar, so I can use it for something. It will not have evaporated in vain!!
After this disappointing start, I found a Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle Brut. This too was aged enough to have lost some of its pop, but it was delicious.
The weather this NYE was balmy and perfect. A slight wind was not cold or hot, but comfortably soothing. Tom and I took our places on the deck with our glasses of champagne, and watched a symphony of fireworks inadvertently offered by the neighbor guys. We didn’t have a clear path for viewing, but through the canopy of trees everywhere, we enjoyed giddy sounds of revelry and saw pops of color. Occasionally a big one cleared the treeline and exploded.
I was surprised by Tom’s level of interest in this exercise, and by his commitment to stay up past the official moment. It must have been the delightful comfort of all these elements: darkness punctuated by only the twinkle of lights from our large Christmas tree and by occasional bursts of fireworks, and the overall lovely weather interrupted by swirling of leaves with breezes. Quite special.
There wasn’t much conversation, but the quiet confidence of being with a life partner at an important milestone doesn’t require much chitchat. It was wonderful to simply…be…at that place, at that time, with that person.
After all that has happened in a momentous year, NYE 2022 might just be that elusive terrific one. Great start!
May you all have a blessed, fruitful, and happier 2022!
