Two days before the wedding, Brendan and I were with my Mom at our hotel in Houston. We were unloading her car and getting a room set up as "home base" for the weekend. There was so much going on that I didn't notice when Brendan slipped out to answer his phone.
Somehow, in the hectic happenings surrounding this important weekend, I'd managed to forget something that had been at the front of my mind for many months. The US Army Field Band's sister organization, The US Army Band, "Pershing's Own" had an opening for Brendan's voice type in a newly formed group called The Army Voices. Brendan is happy at the Field Band, but we knew the day would come when one of us would have to leave the organization if our future family goals were to be feasible. It's been difficult managing our touring schedule with Geordi—kids would be really tough. So Brendan worked hard to prepare, and sang to the best of his ability, despite being very sick at the time of the audition. Then, we waited.
When Brendan came back in the hotel room, he told us he had been offered the job. Wow. It was such wonderful, overwhelming, bitter-sweet news. So much worry and stress about the future was lifted in that moment. It is still hard for me to imagine touring without him, but I know that our new life together will be full of different adventures and joy.
Brendan is giving up a job he loves for a job that we hope and believe he will also love, all for the sake of our family. Which, at the moment, is just him and me. Oh yeah, and Geordi. I could share a thousand reasons that demonstrate why Brendan is the man I married. He is an amazing person, and I am so grateful to have him in my life. I know we will both make sacrifices for each other and for our family over the years. But there was something special about finding out this news so soon before we made our vows. It was the final piece in a series of happy, important changes.
The details of the transition are still being worked out between the two units, so we are not sure when Brendan will officially PCS to Fort Myer, Virginia. He is trying to make the most of these final months of performing with his friends and colleagues of the Soldiers' Chorus. Today, on Thanksgiving, I am thankful that Brendan has this opportunity to continue his career as a military musician. I am thankful that life brought us together through the Field Band, and I'm thankful for the Army Band giving us such a hopeful future.
We'll miss Brendan like crazy at the band, personally and professionally. But we're all happy for you both, and wish him the best in the new gig. Come back when the kids are in college? Please?
Posted by: Phillip Kennedy Johnson | 11/23/2012 at 04:55 PM