Saturday, March 4 – Tuesday, March 7, 2017 – DRINK and LEAD!

Saturday, March 4 – Tuesday, March 7, 2017 – DRINK and LEAD!

Saturday, March 4th Vinnie and I were up at Lake Plymouth. I wanted to do something new….so I looked in the paper.  What do you know, there was a Maple Sugar Festival going on less than 3 miles away, however, it was about 12 degrees! Freezing!

Vinnie was a good sport and said “YES” so off we went.  NO ONE was there! It was freezing!

So we went and watched two beautiful black horses pull a cart with a couple of kids bundled up. And one man stood with a pot of boiling sap over a fire, then we found  a few people inside eating hot dogs and waiting for the fiddle band to start. Obviously we did not stay.
We picked up some vodka at a nearby liquor store and then stopped into the Terryville library to pick up a library card and an audiobook for me to listen to as I prepared for a ride on Sunday to Newport, RI for a conference.

Trying to figure out something new to do and after conferring with Siri, I learned of a brewery only 3.8 miles away! HELLO TO FIREFLY HOLLOW BREWING COMPANY!  Off we were to Bristol.  We turned left into a driveway that ran alongside a brick factory building. We passed the scrap metal piles and bumped our way over the potholes. Then there was the sign! FIREFLY HOLLOW! We found it!

We bought a flight of 5 samples…..#1,2,3,6,8. #1 and #2 were kind of nice…sort of like a Killian’s Red. Then I liked #3 – Moonrise Amber!! Vinnie liked #6 – Lizard Breath…and we both hated #8!. As we sipped our samplers, then drank our favorite pint, we booked our rides to and from the airport for our upcoming Key West trip in only two weeks! In that moment….life felt right and good!

On Sunday I put in the audiotape and drove North for 3 hours. I found my hotel room in Newport, Rhode Island for a conference for Catholic leaders from New England. I got here on Sunday and it was a lovely evening that ended way too late in the bar! So now it is Monday evening. I had a full day of listening to a wonderful speaker, Fr. Joe,  who talked all day about being open to MERCY…..and being open to the notion that it is in the stories we share with each other and with strangers that we find God….in little ways and in big ways. This definition and discussion of MERCY, also fit right in with my LIVING INTENTIONALLY and truly paying attention to life! At dinner, I got weepy as a local school choir sang Breath of Heaven……..It was beautiful!

So, in these past few days, I have done so many firsts….the Maple Syrup Festival Flop, a new library card, a new brewery with a delicious Moonrise Amber, and a conference to learn to be a Catholic leader! All these years I have been a leader who was Catholic! Will wonders ever cease?

I am amazed that I continue to learn about new beers I love and I learn how to lead as a Catholic.

For all these experiences I say “THANK GOD, Let Us Pray, and DRINK UP!”