Day 81

I’m now in Arizona. Flew into Phoenix this morning (from Denver). Uneventful flight. Just the way a flight should be.  I’m staying with our very close friends, Kip and Mark. Dawn is also here. She came on Friday when I left for Denver. 

We’ve known Kip and Mark for 22 years.  We first met as couples in 2000. I met Mark before 2000 but we didn’t hang out socially until 2000. We both worked for the same company in Omaha. In 2000 Mark started reporting to me, and days after that change went into effect, I had emergency eye surgery to fix a partially (mostly) detached retina. Mark was fantastic during my recovery. He would come over to the house, give me updates on what was going on, ask for my guidance on specific items that he wasn’t comfortable deciding on his own, and then take word back to the office on what we discussed. It was an amazing example of someone going way above and beyond. And it became the bedrock upon which the foundation of our friendship was built. Dawn and Mark also hit it off right away. And we both fell in love with Kip once we were introduced. 

Kip and Mark are the quintessential example of opposites attracting. Mark is out going and flamboyant; Kip is reserved and a bit introverted. They are both very funny but in entirely different ways. Mark is all about big drama and taking on the affectations of others, often celebrities, and showering us with quotes in some put on accent of his choosing. Kip on the other hand has a dry, acerbic wit. He usually catches me (and others) off guard since it doesn’t happen all that often. When it does, I’m usually doubled over laughing hysterically within a few seconds. 

As couples we’ve done lots together - concerts, dinners, dinner parties, birthday parties, etc. Over the years, we got to be extremely close. When Dawn and I were getting ready to leave Omaha and move to Georgia, saying goodbye to Mark and Kip was the hardest of all the goodbyes. 

When Dawn was pregnant with Damian we discussed who we would want to step in take over parenting Damian in case anything happened to both of us. The answer was as easy as it was obvious: Mark and Kip. We loved them and knew that if something did happen to us they would make sure that Damian was well taken care of. I remember sitting in their basement asking them to do this for us if, gulp, the worst happened. Without hesitation they both said yes. 

A few years later, Mark and Kip told us that they planned to get married and asked us to come be part of their wedding ceremony. Of course we came. So did Damian. He was 9 at the time. There were only 7 of us at the courthouse that afternoon. I was honored and humbled to be there. I love Mark and Kip and will do so to the end of my days. I know that Damian also loved them. He always referred to them as his uncles. If I have any regrets it’s that the three of them didn’t get to spend more time together. But isn’t that almost always the case. Wishing that you spent more time with someone before they up and died. 

Nobody saw this coming…