Getting Caught Up
Seven months G,
Seven months since I've written you a letter. You’re a completely different human than the one who I last wrote to back in September last year. It's honestly a bit alarming how quickly you are getting older, but that's a story for another time. We have A LOT of ground to make up, so let me not delay.
Since my last letter, our world has COMPLETELY changed. That's not a dramatization either. The list is long and heavy. Starting at the top, your sister was born. Charlotte busted on the scene like a stick of dynamite, loud and dangerous. It's hard to believe, but she's 6 months old and already our personal little asskicker. She's a lot like you in many ways when you were her age. I hope you are ready to share the spotlight. She won't have it any other way. She will also start getting letters every once in a while; don't go crazy. My last letter to you was about foodie issues; she has you beat there. So angry and violent when she's hungry. Hopes are high that she'll be nicer to us soon.
More good news. We are officially landlords now. Our tenants are dope and take great care of the house. We went over to Tucker last week to grab some mail and when you realized where we were you wanted to get out and go inside. You were home. That tugged at my heartstrings a little bit. It still belongs to you, but we just don't live there right now. Establishing passive income is the goal.
Disney+ launched. Every classic I watched as a kid is now available at your fingertips. But it's not just the oldies. The Lion King (live-action) and Toy Story 4 run on repeat. The platform also has almost every Marvel movie ever made. The rich get richer smh with you and your 4K Netflix account. Separately, we threw a successful function for New Year's Eve. It was our first time hiring a babysitter for a party, certainly not the last. Some of our friends took advantage of the services as well. The party was lit and went off without a hitch.
Then, things took a turn for the weird, worrisome, and worst. I had all of my wisdom teeth removed and became a 31 year old man with braces. Long story. Unfortunately, California has been on fire for sometime. But now, Australia has caught on fire too. This actually started in late 2019. But as 2020 rolled in the blaze continued, displacing many families and killing a bunch of wildlife. More recently, Florida has caught on fire as well. Our planet seems to be in a bit of trouble.
In late January, Kobe Bryant died. You don't know the Black Mamba yet, but you will. He is one of the greatest basketball players to ever live and one of biggest reasons why I love basketball to this day. Kobe along with his 13 year old daughter died in a helicopter crash. Seven other people lost their lives as well, including another pair of father and daughter. I pray the many families impacted by the tragedy find peace and joy again.
Just 2 weeks ago, your great uncle, Dr. Edward Bouie, Jr, lost his fight with cancer. We didn't know each other as well as we should/could have, and now we don't have the opportunity to change that. You met him once. Though sadly, you probably won't remember as young as you are. He's certainly gone too soon, a brilliant mind with a passion for education. He is survived by your Aunt Wendy, your cousins Kareem and Kamika, and Granddad. You and Granddad are tight; no worries there. But we won't let the opportunity to get to better know the rest of that side of the family pass us by. We also have to make it down to Orlando and up to KC soon and more often. Different branches of the family, but definitely important for those bonds to be nurtured and cultivated.
And between those Ls (and still today), we find ourselves surviving a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has taken the world by storm and forever changed how we will do some aspects of life. I wonder how the story of this virus will be told 30 years from now when you're my age. Will the truth eventually be set free? We definitely aren't getting the whole story right now. Some say it came from someone buying and eating some bad bat. Others say it was created and escaped a lab. Still others say the virus is just not real at all, a government hoax designed to put us in a state of fear.
Regardless of all of that, the impact has been very real. To date, there have been over 200,000 deaths worldwide. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20 million people lost their jobs in the US in the month of April alone. The economy is trash. It tanked really hard. Then, it recovered a bit, but I don't know that we've seen the worst of it. Your mother and I are truly blessed to have remained fully employed, praise Jesus. But we have worked from home 43 straight days and counting. Major change to our daily program. As a teacher, I'm sure it's even weirder for your mother. Fourth graders having to be schooled via digital learning is not something anyone saw coming.
We, along with most of the country, live in a state of quarantine. We leave the house only for groceries and toiletries and rely on Postmates to get a taste of restaurant food. Many businesses have closed permanently, while others will likely not return to normal for a very long time. There is caution tape surrounding the playground. The rims have been removed from basketball goals. You've gone to the movies a lot for a not yet 2 year old human. Scratch that from the activity list for the foreseeable future. Sporting events, concerts, the summer Olympics, all shot. I hope this isn’t the case, but we may look back and see this as the era when the handshake and the hug died.
Now, our Peach State actually opened a little over a week ago. The news says everyone is up in arms about it, but seeing the crowds and traffic over the weekend makes me think a lot of people aren't too bummed out. We're going to sit tight for a bit longer though. Streets are popping a little too heavy for my taste. Now, we do get outside. You and I go for walks with Bentley. We have driveway parties where the neighbors will come out and join us in conversation from at least 6 feet away of course. I even started running again. I have been training for the Peachtree (which has been pushed to Thanksgiving) since before the virus closed the country. Running has become my little escape from reality, but that too has been tainted by the occurrence of 2020.
Sadly, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Racism is still alive and well amid the pandemic. Honestly, it may be in its best shape in years. A man who looks like us was murdered while doing the activity I have come to love and appreciate. Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed while out for a run in February, while the perpetrators were allowed to continue life as usual. Only after the story made national news a full 2 months later were the men arrested and charged with a crime. He was 25 years old.
There was another case where an armed mob showed up to the home of a black family in North Carolina looking for a missing girl. They were at the wrong address, looking for someone by a completely different name then the resident they confronted. Police were called, but the mob was allowed to leave the scene (shotgun and rifle in hand) and go home without immediate and swift recourse. I hope the girl was found, but they had no right doing that. Had the boy’s mother not been home, who knows how much worse this story could have been. (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/10/us/North-Carolina-deputy-charges-racism.html).
Just today I read another story of how a black woman in Kentucky was murdered by the police as they executed a search warrant at the wrong address for a suspect who was already in custody. The officers were fired upon by the victim's boyfriend who thought they were being burglarized. An officer was shot in the process, and that sucks. However, an unarmed Breonna Taylor was shot 8 times. That's not okay and cannot be accepted. (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/breonna-taylor-black-women-emt-killed-asleep-police-drug-raid-louisville/)
I know this is a lot to take it. Hell, it was sad just typing it all out. However, I have a responsibility to document these ills the world faces today. I have a voice and a stance I will share. And I will teach you and your sister to do the same. So with law enforcement issues, and racism, and the coronavirus, and the loss we've experienced, what do we do now? Where do we go from here? Well, we start by praying and knowing there is nothing the Lord can't fix. We leave that space with hope and do our best to pass it on to others. We strive for reconciliation between cultures. We become an active part of a solution. We express how we feel. We don't ignore the good as a result of there being bad. Quarantine has been a major change of pace, but I've had time with you and Charlotte that I would not have had otherwise. That has been amazing. Lastly, we always push forward in everything we do, knowing that light always overpowers darkness. ALWAYS! Hold on to that as we see what else 2020 has in store for us.
I love you Gray,
Yo dad, Marc 😉
PS - I love you too Charlotte, very much.
