Sharing - How Important is it?

Remember when you were little, and your mom constantly had to remind you to share? Share your toys, share your snack, share your meal, share your family. Sometimes it seemed the value of sharing overrode every other value being taught that day. Woe to the child caught hiding a special toy from their sister or hoarding their small stash of red gummy bears. Sharing is an important value. We learn about ourselves and other when we examine the things we share, and how we go about sharing them. Wine is one of those elements we should share in life. While on one hand, we have the image of the "lone drinker" (never pleasant anyway), the other hand provides us with the sharer, the host who never lets a cup run dry. "In the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures." (Kahlil Gibran) What evokes better memories than those of fun times shared, whether you're with family, friends or a combination of both? In my family food, fun, laughs and wine intermingle at all family gatherings. So tonight, share with your friends, lift your glasses with a laugh, and remember the words of Clifton Fadiman: "A bottle of wine begs to be shared; I have never met a miserly wine lover."