Remembering: Popping the Cork

I don't know when or even why we started the tradition of writing on corks, but it seems we've done it as long as we've been together.  Similarly, I don't think there was ever actually any intended end use for the scribbled on stoppers.  They have heralded grand events like weddings and births, special occasions and gatherings, life punctuations, and simple days we want to remember.

There is a collection of three corks on the desk in my studio reminding me of an especially difficult contract from which I am now free.  On our window sill is another grouping from dinners with friends.  Kitchen drawers hold a plethora of corks of varying vintages and wineries each possessing its own special notation.

No, our house is not overflowing with corks and most people who visit would probably never notice, but we do on occasion.  The other day I was looking for a biscuit cutter and opened a drawer to find a cork from a dinner at a favorite restaurant when  Dan's daughter, Nicole, was visiting nestled against another noting a happy vacation in San Francisco.  These subtle little cylinders, when discovered, usually bring a smile to my face and transport me back to that moment when Dan pulled out his black pen and immortalized the occasion.

I've contemplated the idea of putting the corks in clear jars or bowls and sitting them around the house so we could see them, but somehow that would take the fun out of our discovering them in the normal comings and goings of daily life.  Perhaps they are perfectly placed....playing hide and seek...happily reminding us of the special moments in life when we least expect it.