Very early in life I learned family gatherings were always something we did.

Why did we journey to each others’ houses? Well, it was expected to be done — it was a family tradition. Yes, we came together multiple times during the summer months, but holidays were mandatory. We spent time with grandparents, aunts, uncles and all our cousins.

During these “homecomings,” stories were read, cousins played like crazy as the adults chatted over coffee about … who knows what? We were kids … they were adults. We would gather in the same room to exchange gifts, but then off we’d go again to do our very important playing and games.

Ah, the good old days! However…

For some reason, even unknown today, I always had mixed feelings about those family together times. I never spoke about these feelings, but I much preferred just our immediate family sitting around the table eating, laughing and mixing even tighter together. Psychiatrists would have diagnosed my feeling as introversion. It’s not that I didn’t love and enjoy my extended family. I did. But, I was always more than ready to go home.

As I matured, those extended family convenings became more important to me because there was so much history to learn from them. Unfortunately, my realization of the importance of those gatherings came too late, and I missed a lot of family history.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a conversation with a departed grandparent, aunt, uncle or cousin? I would love to hear their stories of life, and I’m convinced these stories would reveal a blend of events — from immigration, to how they arrived in the Midwest, to how they met their spouses and on and on. I sometimes feel a hole in my chest from so much lacking family information.

Mixed feelings leading to a sense of blending — hmmm … sounds like a good blended wine!

Strolling through the wine aisle, I had mixed feelings about a wine calling to me from a shelf. I’ve tasted many Ménage a Trois wines, and decided to stuff my mixed feelings and take a bottle of the brand’s Dolce Red Blend home with me.

The wine is a blend of Zinfandel and Syrah — nothing unusual about that. Why did I have mixed feelings about tasting it? I don’t know! Onward and upward, darn it! There’s nothing unlikeable in this delicious wine that reveals tastes of black cherries and some raspberry supported by a soft rendering of vanilla. The blend is soothing and mixes well together so let’s not have any more hesitation about ordering it again.

The wine brought forth a memory of us meeting our daughter in Rochester where she was attending a conference. Her colleague joined us at the dinner table, and I ordered a bottle of Ménage a Trois Merlot. Her colleague gasped, laughed and immediately called her husband to inform him she was having a glass of the same wine they had just enjoyed together at a family gathering. It’s a small world, isn’t it?

Like may of you, we just concluded a weekend of holiday gathering and eating. Oh yes, eating! Our time together with our son and his partner (I’ll nickname her Mega) was overwhelmingly awesome. We got to meet Mega’s grandparents and her two brothers. Initially, there were some mixed feelings, but it took about 30 seconds for us to share our first laugh and we discovered much family history that blended together.

To that memory, I raise a glass of Josh Legacy Red Blend Wine. Made from a mixture of Shiraz, Merlot, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, it exhibits tastes of plum and peppery black cherries. It would mix well with a BBQ dinner!

Yes, even today, I have some mixed feelings about family gatherings. They aren’t bad feelings, but rather a feeling that I don’t want to miss a moment of them so I can continue to build my family’s memory book of stories.

Those stories — even with their mixed feelings involved — blend us together. My blending has made me the person I am today. Thanks, family!

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

Cheers!