Melissa

My daughter, Melissa, wanted to play the violin from the time she was a tiny girl. She began teaching her own violin students when she was fourteen years old, and here we are ten years later with Melissa teaching more students than ever. Her students range in age from as young as three years old to adults who are taking on new musical challenges.

One of her adult students owns Shadow Run Winery and has named a new wine after Melissa. When I asked the winemaker about it she said, “I will share with you how Melissa (the wine) was named.  First, white wines are much tougher to make than reds.  Red wines are typically more expensive than whites based on time in barrel, but universally, wine makers will tell you that a perfect white is really, really tough.  The flavors are more delicate and mistakes are more obvious. 

I looked at your Melissa one day and realized that she personifies a perfect white blend of Grenache Blanc (bright high notes), Roussanne (a strong core or structure) and Viognier (floral notes).  She has a core of strength, bright high notes, and of course a sweet feminine side.  All together, the perfect white blend.  Because Roussanne can sometimes be overpowering, we are experimenting with achieving "structure" with fermentation in new French oak barrels.  Anyway, I won't bore you with the wine making details, but suffice to say that the person Melissa gives us an ongoing goal for the wine, Melissa.  The labels for Melissa will also evolve over time although there will always be a violin as the shadow under Shadow Run Vineyards.

 

As a mom, of course I know that producing bright, balanced children (who become bright, capable adults) is even tougher than producing a nice wine.  I salute your success!”

This blog is dedicated to my beautiful Melissa who has a birthday next week, the day after Mother’s Day. We will celebrate together with a glass of wine named for her!

The Importance of Chaperones

Years ago, there was a family who hosted Civil War Balls in a similar way that my family is currently hosting the Balls. Those Balls started out as family events just as our current Balls are family events. However, being that there were no rules in place about chaperones, in time, teenagers began coming without their parents. Later, entire church youth groups were brought in by the van loads and dropped off with no adult supervision. The people who were hosting the Balls could not do all the work to host and also supervise all the young people - some of who definitely need their activities monitored. That family finally gave up and said that they would never host again.

When I began hosting these events six years ago, some of the "old timers" from that first set of Balls warned me to always make sure that every teenager was chaperoned by an older, responsible adult. I have heeded these words and found that our Balls have remained pleasant and controlled, allowing me to focus on the dancing instead of worrying about whether or not the attendees were getting into trouble. I have found that everyone has happily complied with our chaperone rule for the mutual satisfaction of all.

On the Road

My musician husband often tells our daughters, who are also musicians, that playing music has the additional benefit of allowing them to visit new places and meet people they would not have otherwise. That sentiment is true for me as a dance caller as well. Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to call dances for an outdoor church event on the grounds of a beautiful Byzantine church in San Luis Obispo. Last night, I traveled to the historic adobe fort in Taft and called dances for about fifty high school students. The event was sponsored by a local ministry in the town, Higher Impact, which provided the venue, dance calling and a lovely buffet for the students. None of the students had ever experienced a Victorian style social dance before, but they worked hard to come up with costumes for the event and danced with enthusiasm. One of my great delights is sharing with new groups my passion for bringing people together through social dance.