A Tasting

6 adults. 4 kids under 3. What were we thinking? A bottle of Stonehedge Cabernet, a wedge of Spanish Mahon, homemade mac and cheese for the little ones, a monstrous pile of toys: the hope of a few snippets of adult conversation amid the din. 2 wives swirl and sniff their husbands' wine glasses longingly while counting out sets of blocks and discussing childcare. Two boys build towers. The youngest is briefly enthralled by a miniature tractor-trailer driven by a piece of cheese. This cheese needs this wine, someone says. The boys shout Crash! as the towers tumble. This wine needs this cheese, says another. The pregnant ladies scowl sweetly. What were we thinking? The pile of toys in the living room morphs and moves, seemingly on its own. The talk veers toward potty training techniques, pond hockey, Cormac McCarthy, plastic talking ponies, toddlerspeak (Mommy, the goo-ga went wombly twombly!), the vagaries of organic gardening. A boy grabs a cardboard block and bops his older sister on the head. We ride the waves of crying, the negotiations and battery-driven voices, fitting our conversations into the lulls. There is, of course, one wooden fire engine that all four children must have right now. A lesson on sharing. Who do you think will win the school district seat? Liam, back away from the pony. Yes, I've started yoga again. Did you try this cheese? Give her back the little green man. I told him no iPhones in the bedroom. How many glasses of wine have you had, honey? Daddy, look, a real hammer! What were we thinking? It's hopeless, and beautiful.

-- Gibson Fay-LeBlanc

Wine: Stonehedge Cabernet, California
Cheese: Mahon, Spain