I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter...

So, before I get to the core of today's post, just a few things I'd like to mention first.

1. Do I really need to point out how fabulous our Catcher has been these days? Must I remind everyone that he's had two games now with two home runs? Does everyone realize that he's now only 4 HRs behind Jason Bay? Must I go on....? No, I think not. You get the picture.


2. Surprise, surprise -- this girl has no cavities! Seems the little divets that I thought were cavities were truly made as a result of my bad habit of clenching my jaw and sometimes apparently grinding my teeth -- a habit I thought I had done away with. Apparently not. I do have a teensy pinhole in my very last molar that she wants to watch, but other than that -- my teeth are fabulous. Who knew?

3. And now.... the moment of truth. For the last 18 months or so, those of you who frequent this page, have known the angst I've been through with business acquisitions and/or trying to build a startup. I've often said to myself (and aloud) over and over again the mantra of "everything happens for a reason", and I do truly believe in that.

If, we had bought the Wine Shop of Reading I wouldn't have tried to add an additional license to my town - or acquire the one that is in litigation. If the license in my town came through, I wouldn't have looked at Andover. If the space in Andover had been retail ready I wouldn't have been looking for a less expensive build out location. If the North Andover business which didn't require any buildout hadn't pushed so hard to force a commitment in the completely wrong manner, I wouldn't have opted not to take their business and give it a run. Had my son not had strep that very same day that I declined on North Andover, I would not have been taking him to the ER that Sunday morning -- and wouldn't have been stopped at a red light to notice a very beautiful retail space available in the center of this city's downtown area. An area that never used to ever have space available. And one that had just in November had voted to overturn being a dry community.

And one that awarded one of their liquor licenses.... to us.

It has been a long journey, but everything happens for a reason - right? Timing truly can mean everything -- and sometimes, the reason as to why you don't often get something that you really want at the time -- is because what you truly want is in your future -- and you just don't know it yet.

If anyone is interested in knowing the location, shoot me an email if you're in the Boston proper and North Shore areas -- I'll gladly share.

It's Friday...I'm exhausted and ready to just relax tonight.
Have a fabulous day!