What voices do you hear right now?

Voices? You’re talking about what human voices do I hear right now, right?

At one time, I would’ve answered that question with resounding affirmation but, now, no! I’ve come to realize that every animate and inanimate object has a voice and, the key is to understand that fact and listen — listen to the leaves of a tree talk to you, to the babble of waves, the bark of a dog, the voice of a child, the caw of a crow and even to what various liquid beverages say to you. All things talk to us and a recent family event refocused me to listening to the voices around me.

I could be smart and say this: my recent sibling reunion was a nice time and I did a lot of listening because my four sisters did all the talking. Now … that wouldn’t be nice and certainly not entirely true but here’s what happened.

It was the first time we’ve all been together in over two years and we met at my sister’s house in Sedalia, Missouri. We were all a bit anxious because of the blossoming virus variant in that area, but it needed to be done.

I made a point to listen to all the seldom heard “voices” of my sisters, brothers-in-law and other family members, but my listening didn’t stop with them. My brother-in-law had farmed 40 acres of land for many years but that was not happening anymore due to health issues. We visited the acreage and I heard the rustling of the corn leaves and imagined him plowing, planting and harvesting his crop each year.

During the acreage visit, there were birds signing to us and it was a peaceful time — the field of corn brought back memories of my younger years when I walked through fields of corn. I listened to the plants and smiled.

My brother-in-law is a John Deere fan and he still has a model 730 at his place. It was started and the two-banger sounded so good! As it started, the squeals of delight from the gathered family was to be cherished, the laughs were precious and the sounds of a family laughing together was heartfelt. I was thirsty!

It’s always nice to try wines from different locations and I’d never tasted a wine from Missouri. That soon was corrected as we opened a bottle of St. James Winery’s Velvet Red — a nice Concord grape based wine from the Ozark Highlands. The wine told me about my early days drinking Concord grape wine at home on the farm. It’s a pleasant and soft tasting wine — it speaks of velvet.

One of the wines I brought with me was an Alexis Bailey (MN) blended wine called Country Red — it fit the environment perfectly. A delicate red with a firm finish — it spoke volumes to me.

After a tour of the city, we popped the corks on two special sparkling wines. The first was a 2015 Domaine Carneros Ultra Brut and the second was a 2016 Domaine Carneros Brut — both beautiful wines to see, taste and to listen to their fizziness.

We sat on the patio and talked smartly, with humor, some sadness but always with a sense that what we were hearing was needed and reflected our attachment to each other. Naturally, a wine was poured. It was a bottle of Italian Grande Alberone Cask Aged Red Wine. It’s a blend of Merlot, Teroldego and Primitivo grapes and it’s delicious! Seldom does a wine talk to me about raisins but this one did so.

For those of us who haven’t heard the voices of our loved ones for a long time, this summer has given us a chance to become reacquainted with those voices first hand. Being able to hear, hug and see our special people is life giving and an affirmation how important these people are to us.

Upon arriving back at home, I was able to sit quietly and reflect upon the last few days. I was listening to a band from Equador playing Incan music using a flute made from bamboo — it was amazingly beautiful and suddenly I realized the wine I was sipping was from South America! It was a of Sanama Carmenere from Chile! The music and the wine spoke to each other with softness and beauty — I just had to listen to both of them.

In today’s world, we need all the voices we can hear that are true, endearing and comforting to us. May you find a way to safely hear your cherished voices and when you do, listen and embrace them.

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!