The End of an Era

It had to happen eventually, but after 7 years of either partially or fully living with me, Madison has moved out. I'm basically an empty nester.

Here's the deal, I've never been married and don't have children (by my own choice) and never once have I thought to myself, boy, I sure am lonely. Someone has always been with me, in one way or another. I've written extensively of my alcoholism and party girl persona. When I built my home in Fremont, NH in 2015, I knew there was going to be a problem because I did an awful lot of drinking in towns other than Fremont. I met Maddy shortly after I moved into my house because she was dating my little cousin, she was 16 at the time and pure innocence. Some may have thought I would be a bad influence, but it ended up being quite the opposite! Maddy hung at my house often because duh, I'm a wicked fun time (drunk or not). She would pick me up from parties and bars, attend parties with me so that she could drive home and she was lucky enough to get to tuck me in after I passed out with my mouth open on the couch. And then I quit drinking, praise be!

I remember for Maddy's 17th birthday, which fell about one month after I quit, we took a trip to NYC to celebrate. I could have planned that a little better than going to the place where every other door is a bar, but willpower is a sonofabitch and I held on strong. At that point, I needed to separate myself a bit from the people I hung out with the most (drinking)....so Maddy became my BFF. I was still working stupid hours away from the house 5 days a week and most weekends, so she helped with animal care and chores. Then I took a job in Boston and commuted for 14 torturous months - leaving the house at 6 or 7am and getting home at 7 or 8pm, depending on if I made the 6:39am train out of Exeter or not. That's some soul-sucking shit right there, commuting 4 hours a day to go sit and stare at two large screens of Microsoft Excel for 8 hours; I shudder to think back on it. I think that was when Maddy first partially moved in, some time in 2017. Neither of us will ever forget the day I called her and happily yelled MADDY! They laid me off! Sweet heaven they laid me OFF! She hopped in her car and drove to Boston to pick me up (I made the train that day) and it was the best summer ever (it has since been far superseded).

Next up, I took a role as the Assistant Controller of Cole Haan - my dream job. I loved their shoes and bags and now had a 50% discount, it was 30 minutes door to door in my own car, and a Boston-salary in New Hampshire. Be careful what you wish for my friends. Not long after I signed my employment papers, we were huddled up by the CFO to hear the words that would crush any hopes I had of work-life balance: we're going IPO (another shudder). Maddy was away at college learning how to drink, and my cousin and her family had moved in while their new home was being built, so thankfully I had them to help out at home while I ate all three meals at my desk. My best friends became my co-workers and auditors, thankfully who were all cool or I probably would have offed myself. Waking up every day and going to the office until midnight really sucks. The nights that I was able to leave at 9 or 10pm were a treat, but reality quickly set in when I got home and the house was dark because everyone was asleep.

After a few months Amy and fam moved out, Maddy came home after her first year of school, moved in and never left. She decided to commute to school for year two, which worked out for me because I was in the thick of it at work - about 6 months out from the IPO and the 'guaranteed' bonus I was to receive upon successful completion. You know the dangling carrot? Yep, that was it, the thing that kept me going when I wanted to cry....the money. Eyeroll.

Covid shut the world down 2 weeks before we were supposed to go IPO, literally at the finish line and BOOM! No go, no bonus. All those hours were for absolutely nothing, and then SURPRISE! They issued a 25% salary cut across the board - so fun when you had just given 12 months of your life to a company. This was when my pot smoking really took an uptick. You would rarely find me and Maddy without a blunt nearby - the photos from that summer are comical, Snoop Dog would have been proud.

I was grateful to have her there with me, we had the most fun doing absolutely nothing at home in the middle of the woods. We laughed our asses off with our little family of dogs and cats, who were so excited to have both moms home all the time. Sure the world was mayhem, but for us it was kind of the best.

Once things opened up again, Maddy went to Rome to study for a semester - so fun! I went to visit twice, for ten days each time. I think she tells people I'm her cousin because it's weird that we are best friends and I'm 100 years old compared to her but whatevs. We're basically family, potato potahto. The best roommates, travel partners, confidantes, dog and cat moms, aunties and bff's that anyone could ask for. We still annoy the piss out of each other sometimes...living with people is hard, you know how it is. Especially a 40-something living with a 20-something but somehow we made it work. She cooked and I cleaned, the perfect analogy.

And now, she is off doing her thing in the real world, hopefully remembering everything I taught her! First real job and first real apartment are a big deal, and I'm super proud of her. She had to leave my house eventually, but it's WEIRD.

A new era is upon us. Maddy flew the coop and I'm excited to see what's up next in my crazy life story. I have a feeling it will be spectacular, possibly hilarious, and absolutely exciting. Today I'm riding strong in my ninth month of complete sobriety - praise be again! But we sure do miss Madison at this house.