Of Wine and Twisted Ankles

The three of us went to a local wine festival yesterday. Now, don't look at me like that. A co-worker of mine is the keyboardist for the band that was playing at the festival. I'd never been, so I asked him ahead of time if it would be appropriate to bring a child without looking like the worst parents ever. We have no babysitters and if we didn't take the kid, we'd never get to go anywhere. Brian assured me that yes, lots of kids come to this thing and it really is very family-friendly.

Well, there were half a dozen other kids at the shindig and that was it. So, I felt a little guilty, but not, um, guilty enough to leave.

When we first got there, I saw that the band was finishing up with the sound check. I spotted my co-worker and headed up to the stage. I was carrying the kid on my left hip. Inexplicably, I promptly tripped over a bright yellow cable that was at least as thick as a garden hose, wrenching my ankle in the process. I tripped and then did one of those scrambling/running maneuvers to keep from falling and dropping my child. "Yeah, watch out for those," Brian told me helpfully.

I bought a commemorative wine glass, had it filled with Oktoberfest wine, and settled into my foldable chair to watch the festivities. I was sitting with another co-worker and her friend. At one point, there was only one person dancing in the grass in front of the stage. Would you care to take a guess as to who that one person was? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

We were right on the waterfront so later on P took the kid down to the beach for a while. My ankle was starting to burn so I decided to stay put. And have a glass of Riesling. Because, you know, it was really for my own safety.

The band had to stop playing periodically so that the festival organizers could hold a grape stomp. Six names were drawn from a box and then those people (all women) hopped into a tub and stomped. The winning stomper was decided by audience applause and, as far as I could tell, seemed to have a lot to do with . . . cleavage.

We stayed at the festival for around three hours and then headed back home. I had the impression that things would get a lot more, um, colorful once evening hit. I have to say that wine drinkers, generally, are pretty darned easygoing, though. It was a nice crowd.

So there you have it, an afternoon of compromising my child's innocence. Later, after we got home, we let her play on the computer for a while. She said she was playing games on the Nickodeon Jr site, but really, who knows. Hee, I'm just kidding. She can't read so she calls us into the room every thirty seconds to switch the games for her.

Dancing with my co-worker and yes, a bunch of wine bottles. We're sort of hoping she doesn't mention it at preschool on Monday.


The band

The grape stomp

The cutest kid evah