...and so, it has come to this...

I spent most of the day over at Jeff's house today. I wish I'd been there just to hang out, but it was anything but that. You see, my brother is moving. He's taking his family to Montana. Montana! That's nearly Canada.



Aside from brief moments in time, a year or so at the most, we've always lived near each other. The furthest apart we've been was Florida and Colorado...which is far...but Montana is farther. When he moved to Colorado, I drove with him. I helped him move into a place, then I left him there. That sucked....alot. But, we were young, we were moving around, I went to my mothership (Disney), he went to his (Keystone Ski Resort). It was what we were supposed to do.



Now, we're grownups (so our birthdays tell us), we have spouses and kids...lots of kids. It's different this time. I'm really proud of him. He's a bad-ass pilot who gets to carry a gun...it's his dream job. But, this time, he bought a house, so it looks like he's serious about this bad-ass pilot superhero gig. I'm not driving him to Montana, but I am helping him pack...which sucks...alot. Not the actual packing, just the ultimate goal...leaving.



So, to my brother, it has come to this: thank you for always being the one I can count on. For bringing flying squirrels into the house, and sharing them. For forging paths through woods unknown on Beech Mountain, they became the roadmaps of our lives. For taking me on ski trips so I could be with my friends for Spring Break. For riding the metro in DC just to see what happened at the end of the line, we came back to where we started. For always being willing to grab some eats at Fat Boys or a Frap at "'buckets". For steep turns in 95D that made me want to puke...and better yet for stopping them! For bringing me McDonalds when Tiglet and Roo were born, fajitas when Rinford was born, and Burger King at midnight when Pumpkin was born, those were some of the most delicious meals ever! For the coolest niece and nephews in the world, and the chance these last 3 weeks to really spend some quality time with them. For bartending my May Parties...the Tiki Bar will always be there for you! For that long walk around the airport last July when things really started to change, we both knew life was never going to be the same again. And for that last flight to Lakeland this morning...a $22.99 cooler, a last sub, and for waving your wings to me as you took off for the next chapter in your life. I think you're gonna like it there, but boy, how we are going to miss you here!

And just in case it wasn't clear before...this sucks.