Dear John, er, I mean, Solid State,
It seems the sun has set on our . . . day in the sun.
The thing is, I just don’t see this lasting. It’s not you, it’s me. Actually, wait, this will help you understand: It’s the distance. And I don’t mean that in the way my first college boyfriend did. You know, when he broke up with me because “the distance was hard,” and then promptly started dating the girl that lived across the hall. I mean it in the "I’m kind of moving to Maine" way.
Several months ago, my sister told me the news that I was going to be an aunt. And it was great news. But then, four months into the pregnancy, came another piece of news.
My brother-in-law Tim is a sailor. A tried and true NAVY man. He graduated from Annapolis, served his time overseas and continued in active duty. After a few years, Uncle Sam told Tim that there were too many young officers on board, and if Tim wanted out, civilian life was his. For just the small price of remaining part of the Naval Reserves. Tim agreed, moved my sister and himself to Maine and started law school.
Fast forward a couple years and Uncle Sam is back. And frankly, being a total bitch.
Basically Tim has been called back to active duty. For a yearlong deployment to the Philippines. Not Iraq, by any means, but still a half a world away from his pregnant wife. Does the military care about this? No. Do they care that he only has two semesters left before finishing law school with his class? Not one bit.
So, seeing as the rest of my family still resides in Connecticut, and seeing as my sister’s close friends are largely long distance (and strapped with their own NAVY husbands and deployment disasters), my brother-in-law called me and asked me to move to Maine. And live with my sister. And help raise a baby.
You know, like Heather has Two Mommies, the Iraq War edition.
So . . . I’m off! And in the end, I really am happy about my decision to go. Although to be frank, it really wasn’t much of a decision at all. This is my family. And the one thing we all know we can count on is each other.
That said, I am of course sad to leave Vermont, a place I initially moved to completely on a whim. I got a job as a nanny and lived on a cot in my friend Erin’s living room . . . and quickly realized I was bored. So I started Wyld Stallions Records, and in turn met all of you.
Remember that? I was that crazy blonde girl with the baby strapped to her chest, running all over town collecting songs to throw together a benefit CD for Vermont CARES. And all you local musicians totally got on board. So much so, that we actually had to cut tracks to make the album fit the 80 minute CD-R. Yes, CD-R. That project was so DIY that Jeremy Mendocino and I almost got in a fistfight over the benefits of mastering. At any rate, you all got involved, no questions asked, and my first impression of Burlington was a group of incredibly friendly and generous musicians. A group that made me feel totally comfortable heading out to any show by myself, knowing there would always be familiar faces to talk to.
So, thank you! I know you all like to stay hung up on the fact that Toast closed, or whatever. But I didn’t come to Burlington until long after Toast’s demise, and I’ve always been pretty impressed with your music scene just as it is. Maybe that is because I moved here from Farmington, Maine, where shows required at least an hour’s drive, if not three. But for me, Burlington has always been Music (capital M).
I plan to keep Wyld Stallions Records living (at least at the same near-comatose state that it lives in now) in my new venture into aunt-hood. So if any of you band kids want to come play a benny on the coast, feel free to contact me. We have PBR in the bottle in Maine, which for some of you might be all the motivation you need.
And until then, I’ll miss you. Very much. Well, at least until tomorrow when I post this crazy project I’ve been working on. I’ll miss you until then . . . and again after that. And Dan, thanks for letting me temporarily fill Joanna's shoes as the tall blonde by your side, all interwebs style. I think I'll miss you most of all.
Kisses!
Bridget
PS- Erin and I are hosting a going away party for me on Friday November 7th from 7 PM until my parents show up Saturday with the Uhaul. It’s an Un-Baby Shower of sorts — one last night of everything unsuitable for children. If you know where we live, you are invited. If you don’t, email me and I’ll send you an official invite.