Full disclosure. I'm not a mom so if you want to stop reading here then that's ok.
Friends and colleagues say I'm their mom - I guess it's the part of my Jewish mother DNA and part caring about the health and well being of those I meet. They tell me that "you would have been a great mom" but that's not in the cards unless a baby is dropped on the doorstep... but that's another story.
Whether you're a stay-at-home mom, work-at-home mom or supermom go to the office, travel for biz, wear roller skates to get everything done type - this blog is for you. Because you all share a secret - that as soon as there's a break in the action, it's time for a little "Mommy Juice".
Maybe it's with friends around the kitchen table - fellow moms - or the second you take off those heels and contemplate dinner - but you settle down for a two-minute breather and pour yourself a glass of wine.
Hey, I do the same thing at the end of the day. Or while I'm glancing at the day's newspaper while dinner is quickly cooking on the stove. It's that perfect moment when you can just - chill.
And your kids know that time of day too. It's when they're not supposed to bother you. They know it's your Time Out moment. Because you're having your Mommy Juice and they need to play in their room or get out of your hair for just a little while.
Now there's nothing wrong with this - and the purpose of this story isn't to criticize, judge, or scold but rather to encourage you to try to use the phrase "Mommy is enjoying a quiet moment with a glass of wine" or "Mommy is having a glass of wine for a few minutes while she decompresses from a hard day at the office". It's really as simple as that.
My Mommy friends joke around with me that they'll be in McDonald's with their kids and the youngest, when asked what they want to drink, will shout out MOMMY JUICE! Or they'll overhear them playing with their friends - they're setting up a tea party or playing restaurant - and they'll pour some (play) Mommy Juice into the cups. And they giggle and think it's funny - and it is.
Your children are influenced by you in everything they do - including this.
We have done a great job as women introducing gourmet foods into our homes. Your family eats arugula, heirloom tomatoes and english cheddar on their macs and cheese. But somehow the introduction of wine as a natural part of the home dining experience is still whispered about when we're around children.
I'm not here to lecture but just to point out a fact. European children when raised around wine on the table - they even go so far as to let them start having tastes at a young age - are much more comfortable as adults with not abusing or drinking too much wine. It's been socialized into their lives as being something that compliments the meal - that is shared at the family table and they learn about it and understand it's role.
American children can't wait to get their first taste of the "juice". And problems occur when they think of wine as something that when consumed in large quantities will make them drunk. They think their parents drank it to "feel good" and they want to feel good too. And they've got it all wrong.
I'm happy to say that because learning about wine has become trendy in the past few years, young people over 21 are becoming more interested in learning about where it's from, the different varietals and stories behind the wines they consume. It's being embraced as something that savvy young people want to know about - the etiquette of ordering and the skills to purchase - if they want to succeed in our new world.
As parents, they will probably be more comfortable introducing wine into their households with an explanation of what it is, how it's to be consumed so that their children will find that it's not something that is secretive but rather an integrated part of the dining experience for adults.
So the next time you're sitting around with your friends and enjoying a glass, try thinking about how you can explain to your young child that the "juice" that you're drinking comes from grapes - much like their grape juice - but has undergone a process that makes it a drink for adults. That when they are older, you'll take them on a trip to see where it's made. That it's a process that's been going on for thousands of years - converting grapes into wine. It's that simple.
And you can show them pictures in a book of grapes that are in a vineyard which are beautiful to share and enjoy.
And suddenly they'll realize that "Mommy Juice" isn't for them afterall.
It's a beginning - and as we spend more time around our own kitchen tables watching them grow - we want to make sure that as adults they have been sent the right message about wine and the role it plays in one's home or in dining out.
I hope you'll share this with other moms. I'm sharing it with my mom friends too.
