2021
Favorite COVID activity: skiing. We rented a mountain house and spent six weeks on the slopes this winter ... a truly once-in-a-lifetime family opportunity we’ll never forget. Second favorite COVID activity: not catching COVID (so far). Family update: our two oldest are teenagers with all the wisdom and poise that comes with that age. Seriously though, Lane is starting an orthopedic rehab support group for injured athletes, encouraging them to get back in shape and back on the field. She had double knee surgeries and knows the space well. Jack on the other hand is determined to lose all his device privileges until he’s 21, dominating the house with his special brand of temper and humor that screams ‘pay attention to me!’ 16 hours a day. Ironically his grades are the comeback story of the year turning Cs and Fs into Bs and As. Interesting how it correlates to his loss of all-things-Apple.” Christine spent much of the year working out and finding her space in a house filled with humanity more than she likes. Bless her. For my part, I’m diversifying my business beyond commercial real estate (it actually went fine last year in my little practice) and into unrelated startups: one in fitness (check out FitFighter.com on SharkTank), one in computer vision, and frozen grilled cheese sandwiches. Clearly there’s no rhyme or reason to my investing; I’m just an easy mark.
2020
We moved back to Denver in 2017 and I’ve been commuting to NYC. Happy wife, happy life. Left NYC in the beginning of March; won’t renew my apartment lease, and I’m working from the guest room at home. I doubt I’ll go back anytime soon. For now, I have a keyhole view of the Rockies between the neighboring homes that I gaze at on calls to replace the southern view of the Empire State Building and downtown Manhattan in the distance. Different. It’s great being able to say goodnight to the kids seven days a week. I could do without their fighting though; I prefer the banging of dumpsters and car horns. Daughter Lane has had both knees done at the ripe old age of 14. She’s through rehab and can’t wait to get back on the soccer field. Definitely first born, she excels at everything she touches. Son Jack (12) is simultaneously brilliant and lazy in every aspect of life except soccer, where he applies himself with disciplined drills every day — even during the pandemic. Youngest daughter Kate is lovely, gracious, and ready to help anyone with anything. Christine is losing her mind with all of us home every day. Bless her. And for those of us from Calvert, I was fortunate to see John Patterson at my brother’s 70th. Such an amazing career he’s had. And still the same velvet tone in his delivery. Some things don’t change.
