Priorities.

Within the past week, the lovely young lady and I became engaged. The past few days have been hectic as we have been telling all of our friends the news, and looking for venues to hold the ceremony and reception. Then, tonight, I realized -- how the heck are we going to pay for all of it?

A minor panic attack later, and I realized -- duh, we can afford it. It just requires priorities. So, sadly, that means I have to watch what I buy over the next year. Sniff. No 2005 Latour. My biggest priority is spending the rest of my life with the lovely young lady. Everything else comes second to that. So, while that does not mean I am going on a blogging hiatus, it does mean I am going on a wine buying hiatus... er, downturn.

This also makes for a good lesson. There is a little obsessiveness when it comes to wine collecting. Oenophiles tend to have the desire to collect them all. Collect. Them. All. But such consumption should not be one's goal in life. Any hobby -- whether wine, art, model building, or dog walking -- should contribute to one's life, not distract from it.

I am very glad I have this lady in my life, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of life brings.