Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/179241
THrive muse "I could afford a real glass wine glass made entirely of genuine glass!" One Wine Glass A practical, yet opulent gift By Ann Imig 44 brava magazine | OCTOBER 2013 On parent night at summer camp my son won a raffle prize: a basket including a gift certificate for a steak dinner, a bottle of red wine, and a "Caribbean escape" scented candle. They forgot the size 8-10 boys smoking jacket, but they did throw in several books of matches, a handful of mints and one enormous wine glass for good measure. I wondered—why this one single gargantuan goblet? Two pours into this glass would drain an entire bottle. For the wine-affected, not only could you get your nose in the bowl, you could swirl a wine triple-salchow and not spill a drop. That evening, as I sipped and flip-turned in my above-ground pool's worth of Malbec, I recalled another lone wine glass from my past. My first wine glass purchase came from Orange Tree Imports, Madison's mecca in the 1980s for Sandra Boynton coffee mugs, stickers-by-the-yard and candyby-the-cavity. The boutique also sold gourmet kitchen items and fancy lady dining accessories. I remember my shock and pride; that I—an 8-year-old Hebrew student and inflexible ballet dancer—could afford a real glass wine glass made entirely of genuine glass! The saleswoman collected my $4, wrapped the solitary wine glass in tissue, and gingerly set it in a gift box. "Just one wine glass? Are you sure?" "Yeah. It's for my mom." I didn't understand the question. My parents divorced, my mom lived alone, she drank wine. Obviously a single wine glass made for a practical, yet opulent birthday gift. Besides, if I had wealth enough to buy two wine glasses, I'd have forgone the gift entirely, blowing my budget on glass kitten figurines to keep in the zipper compartment of my KangaROOS tennies. Recalling the look on my mom's face when she unwrapped the glass, her bittersweet smile did not evolve into the jumping/clapping Clearing House Sweepstakes winner reaction I hoped for. Neither did it fall to the depths of the Mother's Day when I re-gifted back to her my Alice In Wonderland wall plaque wrapped in a doll blanket. My mom re-married, became a widow, and eventually married again. Sometimes we share a late-afternoon glass of wine as we process about life, while the boys watch Cartoon Network or play board games nearby. We laugh at ourselves, and pity our husbands for having married us. My mom apologizes again for the various traits I inherited from her. I compliment her on something I like that she's wearing and within minutes or days she insists I keep it. She'll kiss me goodbye at the end of our visit, give me an end-of-life directive or two, and say, "See you at Passover honey," even if it's July—just so I don't feel obligated. Nearly 30 years later that same wine glass remains in rotation, only this time it is her gift to me of time spent together—a practical yet opulent gift after all. Ann Imig gives motherhood a microphone with her national "Listen to Your Mother" show at the Madison Women's Expo Sunday, Nov. 24, 3 p.m. on the American Family DreamBank Stage. Imig and nine other writers will read their humorous, poignant and thought-provoking stories.