A Tremendous Year

The bottle was a gift from the Captain for my 40th birthday. I like to imagine having trailed my fingers along its dusty label as I trolled the Moet & Chandon caves not so long ago. We paired it with a lovely sweet pepper risotto and toasted our family's restored health. It was the best Champagne I have ever tasted, surpassing even the coupe of Krug I sipped in Rems.
Madelaine was well on her way during the fall of 2002. The choice to have a second child took monumental courage on my part -- more than moving to Europe with a three- and one-year-old, if you can believe that. Some people flourish during pregnancy. I do not. Luckily my desire exceeded my fear and I had a tremendous collection of family, friends, and experts to see me through. It was, indeed, a tremendous year in more ways than one.