I was thinking about the old saying ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same.’ And thought: Who came up with this saying, and what did they mean by it? Taking advantage of the fact that I literally have all answers at my fingertips, I looked it up. Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr was the author of the once much quoted saying, which was published in 1849 in Les Guêpes, a satirical toned publication in Paris. It seems Jean-Baptiste was known for his sense of humor and shared it through his writings. So, the saying isn’t a serious, thought-provoking epitaph that one must intellectually dig deeper to understand. It’s a joke, sarcastically saying that ‘the more things change…the more they are going to friggin’ change!
What can we learn from Jean-Baptiste’s wit, other than writing a random quote can be quoted by others not knowing what it means for hundreds of years? Maybe that laughing in the face of change might just be the best way to handle it and make the best of it. We all go through changes that are tough, but if we can enter into those situations with an open and positive heart, don’t we insure that at least part of the outcome of those changes is positive as well? I believe that any positive thought or gesture is never wasted, so I say yes.
Case in point: This Valentine’s Day was the first in many years in which I didn’t have a significant other to share it with. This is a bit tough because I was married on Valentine’s Day, and ever since my split with my husband I’m particularly sensitive on this day of love. This year I was looking at being alone on what would have been my 24th wedding anniversary. Now, I could cry, I could crawl into bed for the day and just let it pass me by, or just be plain miserable. Or, I could look at this in a positive way and celebrate the day love differently. I chose going positive and decided to spend the weekend with my best buddy Channy and our friend Kelly.
We decided we would spend the long weekend at Kelly’s house which is up in the country. There was quite a bit of driving involved because I had to drop my daughter off at her Father’s house which is two hours away and then drive to Kelly’s. Now, there were some deviations; Kelly was running late, traffic was getting bad and we had to switch up our plans. She decided to pick me up at my house since it was on the way, and then we were in the car for over 3 hours due to said traffic. But, as I said to all in the car ‘We are going to have an awesome weekend, so all this traffic will be worth it!’
Kelly lives by two cute little antique towns and we strolled around in the cold looking for somewhere to eat. After passing many places that were packed, we ended up at a quaint hotel that had a live band of three that played Credence Clearwater and other similar covers that were right up our ally. We sat in the dining room next to the bar and ordered up some yummy “we are not on a diet this weekend’ appetizers, some cocktails and happily munched away while tapping our feet to the music. Channy enjoyed chatting up the singer while he was taking a break, but that’s a whole other story. The next day, Valentine’s Day, we got up at our leisure, ate some leftovers from the night before, and then headed out to see where the day would take us. We ended up at this amazing little place called Pilot Peak Winery. This beautiful piece of heaven up in the hills is family run and because they were so busy that included two 7-year-old adorable grandsons. The family was wonderful and friendly, the wine was very good (bought three bottles) and they also served little appetizers to taste with the wine. It was a beautiful day, good wine, fabulous friends; a great start to our Valentine’s Day. As we were finishing up, the owner asked what we were going to do that night, and we said we would go out and have some dinner somewhere. She looked at us and said ‘It’s going to be packed out there tonight.’ And that’s when it dawned on us that of course it was going to be crazy, what were we thinking? So, we needed to change our plans. Back home we chatted, set the table up with candles and flowers, grilled up a couple of steaks and paired them with some of the tasty wine we had just bought. We ended up having a relaxing evening with great food, better company and a few extra bucks in our wallets. It is probably one of the best Valentine’s Day nights I’ve ever had, and it was just us girls.
It just goes to show you that even when the best laid plans get changed, you can make the best of it. The finest way to do that is to begin on a positive note, see how you can make the best of the change and see where it takes you. You never know, you might end up having one of the best days of your life.
Check Out Pilot Peak Winery: http://www.pilotpeak.com/
Food Tip of the Day: Kelly used olive oil and balsamic vinegar with seasoning on the steaks. I have never used balsamic before on steak but I will in the future, they were awesome!
Wine Tip of the Day: Don’t drink wine out of a glass with a lip on it, it changes the way it tastes.