It’s been a little bit, hasn’t it?
Things have spun madly around in wonderful, intricate, and confusing spirals over the last three years. I helped open a brewery, bought into that brewery, ran that brewery for the entirety of two and a half years and then left at the end of last year. I know the few of you who didn’t delete this blog from your feed are probably dying (or just curious) to know what happened, and the truth is quite simple. I lost myself within that brewery.
I’m extremely good at completely immersing myself into the culture of a business, and when I OWN part of that business, I let it melt into me like it’s part of my entire being. I worked for 74 days without a break when we first opened the business. I devoted the majority of my time to that business, waking up at 3am to respond to notifications on Facebook, answer emails, just to get our name out there and show how involved we were. Waking up at 6am, heading into the brewhouse and then running the taproom and eventually the sales team until the very end of the day became natural to me. The first time I went outside after that 74 days in a row, the shining orb in the sky looked unfamiliar, and the lack of a concrete bar between me and the other people around threw me for a loop and almost inspired a panic attack.
Now – almost 9 months after I departed the brewery, I think I’m finally setting into plain and simple joy, happiness, and contentment.
I also found a new job – WINE! I’m now the proud manager/social media maven/event planner for Sweet Hearty Winery! Through this new venture, I’ve been able to sneak away every day to a vineyard which resides on a few acres, next to a river, with views of the mountains. Life is pretty danged good now.
I’ve been setting up TONS of sold out events! Wine Glass Painting…
Fly Fishing Casting demos with the local business, Elkhorn Fly Shop…
Cupcake and Wine Pairing with another local business, The Cupcake Gypsies…
Yoga on the Lawn, where I got to meet one of my Insta-Friends in real life!
The oh-so-lovely Beer Yoga! And what have I been up to for the past few months prior?
Managing another brewery in Fort Collins for a bit…
Enjoying boat rides on Carter Lake with the family…
Hanging out with my friends…
Both human and canine…
Helping out at a local brewery farm in exchange for beer and wonderful friendships…
Accidentally falling in love with my best friend…
Going on brewery tours with some of the best people I know…
Drinking plenty of craft beer still, don’t worry!
And also some not-quite craft beer that isn’t owned by the big guys. Unofficial Street Team
With all honesty, I am beyond happy, and oh-so-blessed, to have ended up where I am today. Life is such a random roller coaster of an adventure and I’m thrilled, terrified, and excited to see what else God has for my path. I’d like to say a huge thank you to anyone who’s still tuning in here after such a long hiatus! Let’s see where we end up from here…
You’ve had quite the adventures and I’m glad to see you’re in a really good place in your life now. I know the feeling about working the many days straight to open a brewery. I don’t even know how many straight days we worked without a break, but it was many, many months. Life is much better for us now, but it’s been a tough road getting here. See you at GABF? We’ll have a booth this year.
Unfortunately no GABF for me! Let me know if you guys come up to FoCo and I’ll meet you for a beer! Congrats on the little one!!
And there I was just pouring a nice bottle of Sadler’s Mud City Stout and I thought ‘I wonder if Becki has finally updated her blog?’
Nice to see everything has gone so great for you in recent times, all the best for the future!