Life can be scary. Sometimes you wake up and look around and can’t see a goddamned thing that makes sense to you. Your job. Your home. Maybe even your partner. Sometimes you look in the mirror and think, who WAS I before I became this version of myself? Sometimes there is a feeling so deep down inside you that it cannot be stopped. It cannot be satisfied with a pat on the head or a swig of whiskey. It cannot be quieted with a shushing finger on the lips. It slaps that hand away from your own face and comes galloping out of your guts and right up into that place that doesn’t consult your brain before strumming your vocal chords. These moments are pivotal. Gouging a line into the wooden table of life and asking you very slowly with a hard locked, deep eye stare, “WHICH SIDE DO YOU WANT TO STAY ON?!”.
I’ve been there a couple times in my life. And there are only two choices. Stay and continue your journey into a numb insanity or step over to the other side and get your ticket punched as you get on the ride of a lifetime. Things that are worth doing are nearly always buried in hard work. The hard stuff is where we grow. Where we rip open the cocoon and try as hard as we can to finally stretch our wings out. To desperately get a little air underneath there and get a bit of elevation. This is where the real growth is. It hangs near the top of the tree. The place that you scrap your back on to arrive at. And when finally you stretch your arm out maybe, just maybe you graze the skin with your fingertips. This can be what success feels like. Not holding the fruit and gnashing your teeth into it, no. But ever so gently being able to rock that precious morsel on the vine. Yet as you do so, it is like a start button for the tree and BOOM! It’s shoots up into the sky again and off we go. Climbing and climbing and climbing. This is what chasing a dream can be like. This is what running your own business can be like. It is HARD work. To survive for any length of time is a near miraculous feat and deserves celebration.
I moved here nearly three years ago. One of the first places my amazing partner took me to was 9 Mile nano brewery. I tried a few of the usual suspects and while they all excelled at their personalities, it was the 9 Mile Ale that really poured itself into the cockles of my heart. The staff were a friendly bunch. Courteous and keen. The combination of all these things won me over and I decided this was the place for me. The spot where I would buy my “Fav local” beer and also the place where I would try all kinds of new-to-me beers. Three years later, they make one of my all time fav beers (OC Collab) and I still find myself learning many new things about beer and life, with every visit I make. Because of all this, I am supremely grateful to be included as a part of their four year anniversary celebrations. This weekend they will throw a party for us, their customers. Who does that?! Aren’t WE supposed to throw a party for THEM?! Well that’s just the sort of folks they are. So all we have to do is show up, drink the best beer in town and enjoy the company of good people. Sounds easy enough?! Sounds like just about every time I’ve darkened the doors at 9Mile. This Friday I will perform a couple sets of music in the taproom. Starting sometime after 7pm. There will be no admission charge. There will be lots of Saskatchewan micro brews on tap. There will be nice people. Families. Maybe even a dog or two?! I would suggest that you round up a couple of your best buds and stroll on down to Riversdale. Pull up a chair at the community table, order a fresh pint and sit back and relax, as you do so, we’ll celebrate the amazing feat of Shawn, Garret and their incredible TEAM. Four years! Here’s to four hundred more. See you Friday at 9 Mile.