A little over a year ago, I started this blog and wrote in my first post: “The milestone birthday of 40 will be here at the end of the year. Not quite dreading it but also not jumping up and down for it to come, I find myself turning inward never quite content with the here and now, but striving to find the self awareness to know when I am in fact truly there.” Traveling back and forth between Portland, Maine and Washington, D.C. for the better part of a decade, I was always asking, “Are we there yet?” instead of just being present in the moment – that is, until this past week.
The 40th birthday came and went in December with a wonderful trip to Costa Rica with four of my dear friends. And I got to ring in the year with two special friends from Maine at their home in Santa Fe. Somehow turning 40 was not the epic event I thought it might be – no mid life crisis or gripping depression, but instead great adventures, good food and new memories with some of the most important people in my life.
When I got up on Monday, February 27th, I thought it would be another ordinary week in Washington, and in fact, it was until 4:02 pm the next day. That’s when news of Senator Olympia Snowe’s retirement hit Washington and gave new meaning to the term Snowmageddon. For the next 24 hours, I would work with my boss Congressman Mike Michaud, one of the hardest working Members of Congress, to help guide him through his decision of whether or not to jump into the Senate race. I packed the Jeep and my two dogs Alex and Hunter and drove through rain and snow to Maine to begin a potential Senate campaign. But by Thursday night, Mike had decided not to run for the Senate and instead run for re-election to the House– believing there was still work to be done for the people of Northern Maine. Perhaps the veteran he saw at the airport before his flight home sealed the deal for Mike when he asked him, “But who will fight for the veterans if you leave the House?”
Mike’s decision behind him, I was faced with a decision of my own as Congresswoman Pingree was also considering a run for the Senate. Ever since I was a young boy growing up in Biddeford, Maine, I had always wanted to run for Congress. The son of a middle class family, I worked hard in Biddeford public schools and got accepted to Wesleyan University. But paying for college was tough – it required financial sacrifice from both sets of my parents, it required me to snatch up every hour of overtime I could get at Wellby Super Drug Store at 5 Points in Biddeford, it required loans from the federal government, and it required a job during all four years of college. There would be no study abroad or spring breaks in Florida – every spare dollar had to go to paying for college. And when I was finished, I had the incredible opportunity to come home to Maine – an opportunity that I believe is slipping away for young people here in Maine.
I also spent 10 years working for Congressman Michaud – and I learned the values of not making excuses, respecting people’s ideas different than your own, and putting what’s right for Maine above partisanship. After consulting with my family, my two best friends in Portland and a handful of colleagues I have worked with over the years, I made the decision to run for Maine’s First Congressional District should Congresswoman Pingree decide to run for the Senate. In the end, she made the difficult decision to run for the House, but during those six days, I had perhaps the most exciting, incredible experience of my life, and I wanted to share some of what happened on that short journey.
First and perhaps foremost, I was reminded why working for Congressman Mike Michaud is such an incredible honor. When I told him of my desire to run, he was gracious and supportive and even called me each day to see how I was holding up. Our nation needs more people like Mike Michaud in Washington.
The morning of my final decision, a call happened that I will never forget. My step mom in Gorham called my mom in Biddeford to say this would be a full family effort on my behalf. And every day of this brief campaign, all four of my parents remained true to that phone call. I think the decision not to ultimately run was toughest on my sister as she was prepared to feed an army of volunteers throughout this campaign. I had even appointer her “Comfort Captain.”
Friends from all parts of Maine and around the country offered to help with gathering signatures, setting up an online presence, writing a check – whatever we needed to get up and running. In just 6 days, they helped put all of the mechanics in place to launch a top-notch campaign I know would have made the people of Maine proud. Throughout this process, I learned how truly blessed I am to have so many loyal friends. One friend who shall remain anonymous not only agreed without hesitation to send me $1,000 when I asked her, but got off the phone after my call and got checks from other family members, all of which had arrived in the mail by Tuesday.
Getting on the ballot in Maine requires 1,000 certified signatures of registered Democrats. Again – I was so humbled at the efforts of family and friends to collect these, and we were close to having what we needed when Congresswoman Pingree decided not to run for the Senate. Others had their bags packed to come to Maine this weekend at their own expense to go door to door in my home town of Biddeford to complete the signature effort.
There are countless stories of friends giving selflessly of their time, and while I am single and have no children, I can honestly say I am lucky to have a supporting and loving family that numbers in the hundreds. Many asked me last Wednesday if I was doing ok or if I was sad. There was no sadness and in fact, I have never felt more happy or alive. In those six days, I think I grew more as a person than in my previous 40 years on this earth. I learned to always value your friends, to work hard for something you believe in, to rise above the petty and not sweat the small stuff, to never forget the importance of family, and most importantly, to be thankful for the opportunities you have in life and to appreciate the help of those who got your there.
Instead of asking myself, “are we there yet?” I think I will focus more on the present, because I think I have always ‘been there.” No matter what happens in the future, I am most deeply blessed. Working in the U.S. Congress has been an incredible honor – especially for a kid who grew up without privilege from a small town in Maine.
