I still vividly remember the day I met Bridgit. Alan was my boss and was in Manila for a business trip and Bridgit joined one of our team dinners. They were newlyweds and she was showing the wedding photos. We were giggling and this was before they were family, so maybe Alan felt it was all a bit cringe.
The day I told Alan I'd be joining Facebook, he told me Bridgit was about to start a new role at Facebook the following month. The rest is history, and a lot of adventures I could never even have dreamed of.
I was lucky to have found an apartment across the street from theirs, and my parents have always found it reassuring I had people should there be an emergency. We'd take the bus to Facebook's office at South Beach, and when we moved closer to TP, we'd walk together, at least when schedules weren't crazy.
One day in 2018, I told her I had an extra Hamilton ticket for February 2019. In New York City. She said yes, without really asking any questions, and we had one of the best trips of our lives in a cold, gray, very windy city.
During Covid, when we weren't allowed to interact with people outside our households, Bridgit would drop food by my door, ring the bell and leave. I'd give it a few minutes and then open the door and collect the food left for me. And when she wasn't personally delivering meals, I'd occasionally get deliveries from all the local small businesses she was always supporting.
The day restrictions eased, she and the kids came over to take a shower, because one of their pipes had burst. Maybe that's the funniest way to say: yes, they are, basically, family.
Bridgit is one of the kindest and most thoughtful people I know. Their home is always open for "orphans" like me during special occasions, especially during Covid. And it is no surprise that every friend of hers I've met is just as warm and the kind you'd want to spend time with.
She is a champion of people. Bridgit has an extraordinary ability to see the best in everyone and articulate it in the most loving way, even, and especially, when they can't do it for themselves. I know, because I always want to melt when Bridgit introduces me to others. I think this is her natural gift, long before she became the comms pro we know today.
Bridgit can bring light and safety to any room she enters. You know when you meet someone for the first time and you're worried they'll judge you for what you can't do and what you don't know? Bridgit is the exact opposite of that. It's why she's one of few people who get my raw, unedited, not-quite-articulate point of view. I can only hope she never gets tired of it.
While our chats are filled with memes, planning and random nonsense, there's one line Bridgit sent me in 2024 that I come back to when things are not easy. And just like that, I know everything will be okay.
"I am somewhere and that place is always there for you."
Now let's plan a family meal at Mary Grace and book those Les Misérables tickets.