R.I.P. 2020

2020. A year that will go down in infamy. In February, fresh off celebrating the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV win, we found ourselves in Sarasota, FL enjoying another respite from the winter of Kansas City. At the time, there was merely a handful of COVID cases clear on the opposite side of the country in Washington state. Then literally just a few hours after our plane left Florida, the first cases outside of Washington were reported…in Sarasota. A few weeks later, the kids came home for spring break and then were told to stay home for the rest of the semester.

Thanks be to God that spring was coming and winter was going away. Thankfully also this virus only rarely affected children. Still, what words could we add that fully capture the disruption that all have experienced from the lockdowns and lifestyle limitations in this long year?

We strive to not forget the many blessings that we experienced:

We finished the basement renovation! We now enjoy Star Wars in all its 4k glory.

We refinished our driveway and front walk!

And in a moment of wondering if we’d ever get to safely interact with other humans again, we looked into buying my (Marshall’s) dream: an RV. In a moment of sanity, we rented one instead! We went to one of the last bastions of freedom in this country, South Dakota, and had a blast. And, we took our beloved old dog Virginia with us! She happily stayed behind and protected our house on wheels while we biked and hiked and jeeped throughout the Badlands and the Black Hills.

Aimee took her cooking skills to another level. Homemade pasta, ragu sauces, pizza, and yummy baked breads are now frequently on the menu. Not to forget the daily morning ritual of pour-over coffee with home-roasted beans from around the world.

Andy attended Kanakuk for the first time! He spent two weeks at K-West and loved it. The rest of us spent two days at the Lawrence Welk Resort. Woot woot. 😂

And what a year for Impact Foundation. Illustrating the redemptive nature of what Aimee and Jeff and Steve have built, their clients opened the floodgates of generosity to help this hurting world during the early days of the pandemic, reaching Impact’s year goal by the end of April. And it didn’t stop there, marking 2020 as a breakout year for the team. Thank you Lord!

Lastly, we are so thankful for nearly one whole extra year with our sweet old dog, Virginia. “Good Girl”, as we fondly remember her, passed on November 17. What a gift she was! Please scroll down to see our tribute to her. 

As always, see the sidebar or click here for more photos from 2020.

Cheers and blessings,

Marshall, Aimee, Andy, Liam and Reagan

Goodbye Sweet Virginia

 

Virginia, 2005- 2020

Virginia, aka “Good Girl”, “Puppy”, “Pooper”, "Thumper", and "Gray Lady", left us on 11/17/2020 at the ripe old age of 15-1/2 years. She was a survivor. Having started life on the streets of downtown KC, I (Marshall) found her and her labrador brothers late one workday in an empty lot. She was the only black one and the only female, and she first endeared herself to us when, trailing her brothers down an alley, she managed to knock them all over like a bowling ball when all except her stopped at our beckoning. We found homes for the brothers, but Virginia was to be ours.

Nothing would keep her down. She had so much energy that Aimee started running again to tire her out each day. She was the perfect running companion for hundreds of miles, and it always made me feel better knowing how she would put herself between my wife and danger.

In the early years, she chewed everything, from the vintage heirloom sofa to the baseboard on the wall. When I had foot surgery, she napped with me, resting her head on my belly. Then came our children, and she graciously accepted them one by one into our ‘pack’. In fact, I’m pretty sure that is when she made my wife her fave.

Each day she was unsatisfied until the last of us were back in the house safely. And this was tough, because we travelled a lot. Whether we were gone 5 weeks or 5 minutes, she always welcomed us home with a smile.

In her prime, she was svelte. An athlete, just like my wife. Everyone commented on how beautiful she was, even after she “retired" from running. She and I grew old and gray and arthritic together.

In 15-1/2 years, she never ever left a morsel of food in her bowl. Not even on her last day. She did leave plenty drips of water all over the kitchen floor.

We miss you dearly, Virginia. You reflected more perfectly than any broken human the attributes of God—unconditional love, loyalty, faithfulness and joy. You were His gift to us. I wish we could know what God’s eternal plan is for pets, but if you are with Him, I am confident he greeted your arrival with “Well done, Good Girl. Well done."