I’m tired as all outdoors.
If there’s a point in a person’s life when they no longer care about popularity or fame, I think I’ve reached it. Actually, that’s never really been “me.” I’ve always preferred the bonfire over bottle service. The thought of whiskey shots at 2 a.m. is enough for me to curse my liver. Spending more than five minutes in a crowded bar, belligerently trying to convince a friend how many drinks I’ve had to justify vomiting in his truck, is enough for me to set “bedtime” alerts on my phone. I’m way too tired for all of that.
One thing I’m not, though, is a stick in the mud. I’m the furthest thing from a homebody, and I’m not the biggest fan of “I do this every time I come here.” I have accepted the fact that I’m a fairly sociable person—my wife is fluent in her eyerolls when I make comments about me being a loner. “Don’t listen to him—he tries to play that fake-subdued Southern boy bullshit. He’ll talk your head off if you let him.” That’s my wife’s go-to response if I even come close to sniffing the phrase, “I’m shy.” At this point, I think I’m going to side with her. Speak with me longer than a few minutes, and there’s a guarantee I’ll utter the words: “nature,” “innate human capabilities,” and “beer” at some point. Meaning, I prefer settings where conversation is the lead and the more you don’t know anyone or any place, the better.
There’s only a few places where you can check all those boxes, especially when you live in more urban areas. I won’t bore you with the “You should be open to hanging out at breweries” speech—it’s corny, and that song and dance has been done more than a few times. But do you know of a better place to be on a Saturday evening, with friends, outdoors, and enough real estate for toddlers to tire themselves out running around?
I’ll wait.
As a matter of fact, I’m too damn tired to wait. There’s so much life happening during the week. Between work and family life to the unfortunate passing of old friends, it can be hard to navigate everything going on at once. It takes an easy Saturday evening with friends in 97-degree heat at a brewery to finally realize—let’s appreciate this moment, because we’re all so damn tired of life sometimes.
