2020 in Review

Break on Through (to the Other Side)

Who would have thought a year ago that our concepts of work, play, entertainment and togetherness would have been redefined through a pandemic requiring quarantines, shut downs and isolation? 2020 was memorable not only in its ability to alter the way we lived our lives, but also in the way in which it will redefine our lives moving forward. Like any twist or turn, some have chosen to use COVID-19 as an excuse for what’s wrong with their life, their career or their relationships. Others have used the required “changes” as a spark to ignite something new, to turn up the heat on something dormant and to provide motivation to accomplish more than they’ve ever done.

Here’s hoping you and yours are finishing the year healthy, have used the pandemic as a guide post rather than a tombstone and are preparing yourselves for all that life has to offer in 2021. We’re grateful to include you as family and friends and hope to have the opportunity in 2021 to share our gratitude with you personally. The pandemic forced the cancellation of some cherished events, activities and experiences for us and altered the way in which others were carried out, but it did not extinguish or dampen our desire to make the most of life. To share those experiences with those we care for and about, and to bless all with whom we touch with a sense of hope.

Changes

There was a saying Rick heard often while attending college in Cleveland, “if you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes it’ll change”. While the changes endured by the Barron’s in 2020 were numerous, we still have one up on his friends in Cleveland.

2020’s most significant change was the loss of Mom’s partner Julie. Julie passed rather unexpectedly on March 22nd. She had been experiencing signs of dementia and completed a procedure to clear a brain aneurism with little incident. Sally noticed some new symptoms one night that raced Julie to the hospital. It was determined she was suffering from congestive heart failure and that many of her organs were starting to shut-down. She transitioned to hospice care and passed peacefully a week later.  What a shock, Julie’s health wasn’t perfect but this came completely out of nowhere. Leaving Sally alone for the first time EVER during the start of the quarantine for a global pandemic.

Rick had the flexibility (bravery? ignorance?) to ignore the warnings and hop on a 737 with 6 other passengers to stay with Mom. Rick’s visit lasted 3 weeks during which he provided Sally with companionship, completed some overdue projects around the house and enjoyed reconnecting in a way that would never have been possible otherwise. Since then Mom’s now zooming with friends and family, enjoying the benefits of some major updates and purchases at her place in Laguna Beach and traveling with sister Terry and husband Keith to their home in Big Bear. She’s “retired” from her role as accountant for her local church, but still enjoys managing their recycling program to raise money for a school in Myanmar and cooking for the homeless with friends on Monday’s. She has a tendency toward isolation (please reach out and touch her), but realizes that and makes a conscious effort to connect.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

After 29 years of marriage and many years of dating (I don’t recall how many), Kevin and Tina have separated and it’s looking like they’re headed for divorce. Unraveling a relationship of 30+ years in which you’ve financially, emotionally and spiritually combined can’t be easy but it seems best for Kevin and Tina. He left in January and is maintaining an apartment in downtown Richmond (with a front row seat to the Black Lives Matter riots) that reminded me a lot like my first apartment (functional). He hosted a boys trip to Brown Island when Rick visited in June, is still working for Iteris managing transportation infrastructure/projects and had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the right time to be the victim of the Knock Out Game.  The bruises have healed and he’s learned to be a bit more conscious of his surroundings while outside his apartment for a smoke.

School’s Out

The pandemic forced the cancellation of Andrew’s graduation ceremony from James Madison and sent Will’s graduation online. That didn’t keep some of the Barron’s from celebrating. Rick flew to Richmond to enjoy Will’s ceremony in the company of the graduate, and was fortunate to remain in Richmond to celebrate Grace’s 20th birthday.  Andrew, Will and Tina made use of the time share reservation made for Andrew’s graduation/Barron reunion to enjoy a mini reunion in the Shenandoah mountains.

Andrew’s pursuing a graduate degree this year at the University of Virginia (remotely), Grace returned to Temple in Philly to continue her study in Neuroscience, Will landed at Virginia Tech to study Industrial Design and A.J. is finishing his senior year of High School. All have commented how much they “miss” attending classes in person, odd words from students who not so many years ago could not wait for their summer break.

You Ain’t Nothin But a Hound Dog

The idea of adding a high risk dog to a house with 5 cats was not an idea Rick embraced when Anita proposed it in 2015. If you’ve had animals in your home (even ones you weren’t thrilled to receive), you know how they work their way into your life and heart, leaving you wondering how you’ll ever live without them. You read last year how Rick had a mental lapse, requiring surgery to correct after an attack by Manny. He attacked Rick once again this year, this time he continued to pursue after Rick broke away. The screw Manny had loose was working its way out and we no longer felt safe with him in our home. Ending his life was the most difficult decision we’ve ever made.

Manny was Rick’s running partner, covering as many as 7 miles (in our youth) at one time. He was off leash trained and enjoyed accompanying Rick through the green space behind the house for walks to pickup litter. He enjoyed playing fetch, tug of war and riding in the Camaro and especially enjoyed an occasional cup of ice cream from Dairy Queen or a treat from Burger King. We finally parted with the bulk of Manny’s “stuff” this week, sharing them with a rescue friend who has multiple large dogs. The end had to be scheduled due to the pandemic restrictions so we enjoyed a number of days sharing Manny’s favorite experiences with him.

He touched Rick’s life and heart in a way he’s never experienced. The “problem child” we adopted into our family turned out to be one of the best things that’s ever happened to Rick. He’s blessed that Anita insisted that Manny join us so he could experience the joy, peace and serenity that time with him enabled. Doing so allowed Rick to push away the world and focus on enjoying the moment (while making sure he didn’t run off to kill a squirrel or roll in a pile of deer poop). Our “black dog” turned out to be an angel wrapped in fur with a very large tongue. Thank you Manny for the life we shared together.

White Wedding

If you REALLY want to see Rick light up, ask him about his Granddaughters, Mia and Anna. He’ll remind you that he’s had the honor of being a Grandfather since the ripe age of 33 and that’s it’s the best gig around. 2020 was a big year for both ladies (Mia’s 24 and Anna’s 20). Mia tied the knot with Mr. Right (Eric Alonso) and Anna and her live-in boyfriend (Jacoby Chauncey) moved from her parents to a place of their own (with a roommate). Both are working (Mia as Assistant Manager for David’s Bridal and Anna as the Manager for a local custard business), Anna’s pursuing a business degree and time, space and maturity have brought Anna and Mia back together as friends. Rick visited Jacksonville in September for Mia’s wedding shower, arrived early for the wedding to celebrate Mia’s 24th birthday, and strutted like a proud peacock during the wedding events. Anna spent the year settling into her new place, studying, working and supporting Mia through the trials and tribulations of planning a wedding through a pandemic. It’s been a pleasure participating in their transition from girl, to young lady to fine woman. We’re looking forward to seeing how they continue to develop and hope to have the privilege of being ex-step great Grandparents!!

The Star-Spangled Banner

Dad’s cremains have been resting comfortably with his wife Nancy since his passing in 2011. Nancy relocated from California to South Carolina and met Rick on his way to Florida for Mia’s wedding. Dad’s cremains are now visiting Cincinnati while Rick re-initiates the process to place his ashes in Arlington National Cemetery. Once the paperwork is complete it’ll be 9 to 10 months before they communicate a date for the occasion. This will fulfill Dick’s final request of Rick – to be honored for his military service. You’ll be informed of the details as they become clear.

Working Man

This year’s employment has been an interesting mix of good, bad and ugly. Rick’s digital marketing company landed a large, Detroit-based,  industrial automation client in June. Much of his spring and summer were spent creating a marketing plan for their growth, hiring and training a client manager and transitioning daily management. In September he and his partner Ben visited their office, stopping at Gilboa Stone Quarry on their way home to blow some bubbles (i.e. SCUBA diving). Rick also spent a few weeks in October/November managing a project for Pfizer. The work helped expedite Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine submission to the FDA through a review of the documentation for their largest clinical trial of the BioNTech vaccine.

Anita started driving for Door Dash in March, getting Rick involved through Uber Eats in April. Combined the two of us have completed close to 4,000 deliveries!! As the lockdown was released and families settled into their new normal, it’s become increasingly difficult to hit our daily income target so Rick started doing surge deliveries for UPS (surprising how many Amazon packages were delivered by UPS this holiday season).

Our real estate wholesaling efforts began to require more marketing investment (e.g. direct mail) than we were capable of providing, so it’s been placed on the back burner. Rick’s opportunity to serve as a Performance Coach never materialized due to COVID related complications in getting clients. He’s continued his relationship with the owner and is exploring other opportunities with him for 2021.

A Day in the Life

The pandemic cancelled or significantly altered travel plans for the year, most significantly Rick’s trip with Andrew to Eastern Europe. Rick’s still working with the airline to get vouchers/reimbursement for the trip that was scheduled for May/June. They’re hoping to make the trip (or something similar) in 2022 when Andrew finishes graduate school. No family reunion, no Fraternity reunion, no Christmas celebration with Anita’s parents, no getaway for the two of us and very few drop-in visitors (Rick’s high school friend Cheryl Rodenfels and her husband Clint visited in October). Rick and Ben were able to do some underwater exploration of a Kentucky stone quarry (nice to have a dry suit). They have plans for a trip to Cozumel in May 2021 (fingers crossed).

Anita has been winding down the cats she has in foster homes to initiate a “planned break” from rescue. After saving the lives of literally 1,000’s of animals since starting her efforts in the early 2000’s, she’s ready to pass the torch. Rick will continue his involvement supporting no-kill locally to keep our fingers on the pulse of the movement Anita kicked off in 2011.

Kendra was masking up every day to head into the office to support the attorney’s she’s been working for for decades, but recently returned to working from home after a positive COVID test from a co-worker. She can be found most days walking her neighborhood with their dog Vinny (D.J. passed) or enjoying the love of their new kitten Keira.

This year we added 3 semi-feral  kitties (Violet, Lucy and Willow) to the basement as “temporary” residents to socialize them for forever homes. Anita reports great progress in their individual socialization (Violet is ready for adoption but Willow and Lucy still need more work). After 6 months Rick never sees Willow, only sees the rear end of Violet and gets hissed at by Lucy. Every kitty that’s had to survive outdoors must go through a period of “detox” to learn/relearn to trust humans.

Beatrice, Bond, Diva, Rochelle, and Wyndham continue to grace us with their presence. You’ll find one to four of them sleeping on/with Anita (Rochelle is not a pile on fan). Wyndham jumps up on the couch to get some love from Rick almost daily, Bond has started allowing Rick to pet him (on his terms),  Diva positions herself between the two of us on the couch but bites after more than 1 touch. Obtaining the love of a good kitty has many benefits, Rick’s constantly reminded it’s on their time, not his.

In The End

After nearly 60 years (that’s hard to type) it’s increasingly evident life’s about the journey, the experiences and taking time to enjoy the route. We do our best to remain connected to you but life’s pace does not offer time to give you the attention we believe you deserve. We hope you know that because you’ve received this you’re in our thoughts, are loved and are often in our prayers. Hang in there, this too shall pass and life will return to a new sense of “normal”. When it does, we’ll be grabbing hold with both hands and hope to share a portion of our remaining journey with you.

With All Our Love,

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