It's the first day of 2023 and it's raining outside.
Somehow it makes time move slower...
In the desert, it feels promising to start our year with rain. I’ve found a quiet place to sit and look out on the cactus in the front yard, which turn a different color of life when wet. The bark on the mesquites darken. Things seem more grounded and nourished. It is a time to be still.
Much of the past few years have felt like a blur. Some days it feels like missing time, other days it feels like it should be January of 2020. That was the last time I gave serious consideration to sitting down and writing an annual letter. It’s three years later and somehow a program now exists (chat gpt) that could write the letter for me.
It’s tempting to give it a try but I won’t. Instead I will aspire to make note of the notable moments of our life as a family over the last few years.
I moved from hospice chaplaincy to hospital chaplaincy in 2018 and just completed 20 years of employment at Tucson Medical Center. I am currently working as a per diem (as needed) and also creating digital content for the spiritual care department at the hospital. I continue to be drawn to the visual (pun not intended). This past year I began the process of reassessing my studio space and taking stock of the tools and materials that hold meaning for me. It feels like I’m lining the nest to provide a safe place for the manifestation of something fragile. I am not at the incubation stage just yet but something is coming. I’m excited to see what emerges. For now I am paying attention, pondering, making connections, and being patient with myself.
Our family has experienced profound losses over the past few years. Our close friend, colleague and the kids’ godmother, Cynthia, died in late 2019. Greg’s grandmother died suddenly in February of 2020, my close friend Scott died in May of 2021 and then Greg’s father, Grady, died this last March. I know many if not most of you have experienced deep losses over the past several years as well. We are grateful for our good friends in Tucson who help sustain us in our work and in our relationships to one another. We really miss being closer to family, but Tucson is home and it is a special and sacred place for us. I hope you, too, find that the place you have been planted feeds your soul right now.
On the home front, we embarked on a quite ambitious goal-building a guest house. We started planning it in 2020, built it in 2021 (mostly) and have more or less completed it, at least the 90% we generally complete of most projects. Though initially intended to be rented out for mid-term stays by visiting UA faculty, we seem to keep it in use ourselves most of the time. Evan and his close friend and classmate spent a lot of time in remote school out there during the building phase, Greg works from home out there and uses it to quarantine for a few days after returning from his many work trips, family and friends stay there during visits, and, thanks to an ailing and aging highly vocal cat, Greg and I sometimes traded sleeping out there to ensure a solid night’s sleep. We also continue to spend time enjoying our backyard, which brings us comfort, relaxation and unending possibilities for improvement and repair.
Our family travels have included trips to Houston to visit our families and friends, many trips to Colorado and New Mexico to see the many friends who call that beautiful place home, one last trip to Legoland to revel in play, and one amazing (and hopefully not last) trip to San Carlos with friends. In addition, Amy was able to visit with former hospice colleagues and college and graduate school friends during trips to Colorado, Virginia, and Phoenix. As a 4th grader, Evan procured a national park pass for the family for the year. We just visited Montezuma’s Castle in central Arizona and look forward to a road trip up to Glacier (and maybe some Utah parks) this summer. We try to soak up as much time with the kids as we can. We know the time marches on. It is a gift to watch them grow.
Greg:
What a couple of years it has been. In addition to Amy's description of the recent past, I'll add that it has been an amazing time of transition. To watch Willa pivot from lil' kid to Middle Schooler to now a 1st year in High School has been... amazing, odd, hard, exciting... She reads more than I thought possible; she's a good friend; she's got a passion for justice and understanding how people think and why. Evan also seems to have aged quickly - he's amazing to watch and listen to. He is a deep thinker and is compassionate. He has 5x the energy per mass that I can muster.
Professionally, the work I've been spending most of my effort upon has really exploded. If nothing else, I am proud of my persistence... For the past decade, we've been trying to test out this idea of bringing together agriculture and renewable energy - a concept called 'agrivoltaics'. It's literally the co-location of agriculture and photovoltaics (solar panels) on the same piece of land to maximize the productivity of both, while saving water. You can read more about it here, if you want. Anyhow, we had been trying to get funding for 7+ years, but nobody was biting. In early 2020, I even flew to DC, on the invitation from the US Department of Energy to talk about this work. While there, I walked around for hours - as I usually do when traveling alone - and I came upon Yoko Ono's wish tree - an art installation that invites visitors to write down a wish and tie it to one of the branches of this tree. I did. Maybe it has had something to do with our recent success, or maybe it has to do with the fact that more and more regions around the world are recognizing that our climate is changing, and we need to do more to ensure that we create a more sustainable food, energy, and water future.
Thanks to this work, I have been able to see many cool places around the world and meet some really incredible people! In 2022 alone, I was able to visit and work with teams in France, Italy, Germany, Kenya, Israel, and Mexico. Most of the time, when I get one one of these flights, I am in awe that this kid from Texas, where we rarely left the state, aside from a big vacation to Florida, Kansas, or New Mexico, has been able to see these incredible places. We've also built the largest agrivoltacis site in the US up in Longmont, Colorado, which sometimes feels like a second home because of all of the travel up to the site. I get to work with the most incredible and dedicated scientists and farmers - a real benefit of such a use-inspired research program! Thankfully, I was also able to advance to the Full Professor level, meaning that the last of the professional hurdles are behind me. I know that none of this would be possible without the support of my amazing wife and extended family - both chosen and given.
The kids:
Willa is taking growth spurts seriously. She is now approaching 5’9 and started playing basketball for the first time. She is well into her first season on the Freshman/Sophomore and Junior Varsity team at her high school and is enjoying the challenge of a new sport along with meeting some great friends and benefiting from the community afforded by being a part of a team. She graduated from 8th grade last Spring after somehow enjoying middle school. Despite spending some of 6th grade and all of 7th grade at home she finished 8th grade excited about learning and with many enduring friendships. Her current interests are reading, listening to music, playing guitar, and playing video games with friends. She is discriminating, observant and can roll her eyes really well. She’s a great big sister and we couldn’t love her more. We are lucky to have her for as long as we can before she launches out into the world.
Evan is now 10 and has a very inquisitive mind. He enjoys school, specifically anything to do with math and science, along with playing minecraft with friends. He began taking piano lessons about a year and a half ago and absolutely loves to play for anyone, anywhere, at any time. He, too, enjoys reading books, including Harry Potter, fantasy, and the spy and mystery genre. He runs on the cross country team in the Fall each year, takes parkour at a local gym and, in August, became the proud pet owner of Mozart, the long-haired syrian hamster. Mozart is adorable.
We are also the caretakers of 7 chickens, a dog Leia and our almost 19 year old cat, Haley. I believe she has just taken her last trip around the sun and we have all been spending quality time with her lately.
We are lucky to have wonderful friends and neighbors in Tucson and work that is fulfilling and community driven. Please check back here occasionally to see more moments in our life.
Life-giving activities we enjoy:
Amy: Reading The Wild Robot series with Evan, listening to music by Jon Batiste and Brandi Carlile, dreaming up creative ideas for our home, working in our yard, walks with friends and watching TV and films with Greg.
Evan: making s’mores (regardless of the outside temperature), creating things out of cardboard boxes, the genius that is Minecraft, telling jokes.
Somehow it makes time move slower...
In the desert, it feels promising to start our year with rain. I’ve found a quiet place to sit and look out on the cactus in the front yard, which turn a different color of life when wet. The bark on the mesquites darken. Things seem more grounded and nourished. It is a time to be still.
Much of the past few years have felt like a blur. Some days it feels like missing time, other days it feels like it should be January of 2020. That was the last time I gave serious consideration to sitting down and writing an annual letter. It’s three years later and somehow a program now exists (chat gpt) that could write the letter for me.
It’s tempting to give it a try but I won’t. Instead I will aspire to make note of the notable moments of our life as a family over the last few years.
I moved from hospice chaplaincy to hospital chaplaincy in 2018 and just completed 20 years of employment at Tucson Medical Center. I am currently working as a per diem (as needed) and also creating digital content for the spiritual care department at the hospital. I continue to be drawn to the visual (pun not intended). This past year I began the process of reassessing my studio space and taking stock of the tools and materials that hold meaning for me. It feels like I’m lining the nest to provide a safe place for the manifestation of something fragile. I am not at the incubation stage just yet but something is coming. I’m excited to see what emerges. For now I am paying attention, pondering, making connections, and being patient with myself.
Our family has experienced profound losses over the past few years. Our close friend, colleague and the kids’ godmother, Cynthia, died in late 2019. Greg’s grandmother died suddenly in February of 2020, my close friend Scott died in May of 2021 and then Greg’s father, Grady, died this last March. I know many if not most of you have experienced deep losses over the past several years as well. We are grateful for our good friends in Tucson who help sustain us in our work and in our relationships to one another. We really miss being closer to family, but Tucson is home and it is a special and sacred place for us. I hope you, too, find that the place you have been planted feeds your soul right now.
On the home front, we embarked on a quite ambitious goal-building a guest house. We started planning it in 2020, built it in 2021 (mostly) and have more or less completed it, at least the 90% we generally complete of most projects. Though initially intended to be rented out for mid-term stays by visiting UA faculty, we seem to keep it in use ourselves most of the time. Evan and his close friend and classmate spent a lot of time in remote school out there during the building phase, Greg works from home out there and uses it to quarantine for a few days after returning from his many work trips, family and friends stay there during visits, and, thanks to an ailing and aging highly vocal cat, Greg and I sometimes traded sleeping out there to ensure a solid night’s sleep. We also continue to spend time enjoying our backyard, which brings us comfort, relaxation and unending possibilities for improvement and repair.
Our family travels have included trips to Houston to visit our families and friends, many trips to Colorado and New Mexico to see the many friends who call that beautiful place home, one last trip to Legoland to revel in play, and one amazing (and hopefully not last) trip to San Carlos with friends. In addition, Amy was able to visit with former hospice colleagues and college and graduate school friends during trips to Colorado, Virginia, and Phoenix. As a 4th grader, Evan procured a national park pass for the family for the year. We just visited Montezuma’s Castle in central Arizona and look forward to a road trip up to Glacier (and maybe some Utah parks) this summer. We try to soak up as much time with the kids as we can. We know the time marches on. It is a gift to watch them grow.
Greg:
What a couple of years it has been. In addition to Amy's description of the recent past, I'll add that it has been an amazing time of transition. To watch Willa pivot from lil' kid to Middle Schooler to now a 1st year in High School has been... amazing, odd, hard, exciting... She reads more than I thought possible; she's a good friend; she's got a passion for justice and understanding how people think and why. Evan also seems to have aged quickly - he's amazing to watch and listen to. He is a deep thinker and is compassionate. He has 5x the energy per mass that I can muster.
Professionally, the work I've been spending most of my effort upon has really exploded. If nothing else, I am proud of my persistence... For the past decade, we've been trying to test out this idea of bringing together agriculture and renewable energy - a concept called 'agrivoltaics'. It's literally the co-location of agriculture and photovoltaics (solar panels) on the same piece of land to maximize the productivity of both, while saving water. You can read more about it here, if you want. Anyhow, we had been trying to get funding for 7+ years, but nobody was biting. In early 2020, I even flew to DC, on the invitation from the US Department of Energy to talk about this work. While there, I walked around for hours - as I usually do when traveling alone - and I came upon Yoko Ono's wish tree - an art installation that invites visitors to write down a wish and tie it to one of the branches of this tree. I did. Maybe it has had something to do with our recent success, or maybe it has to do with the fact that more and more regions around the world are recognizing that our climate is changing, and we need to do more to ensure that we create a more sustainable food, energy, and water future.
Thanks to this work, I have been able to see many cool places around the world and meet some really incredible people! In 2022 alone, I was able to visit and work with teams in France, Italy, Germany, Kenya, Israel, and Mexico. Most of the time, when I get one one of these flights, I am in awe that this kid from Texas, where we rarely left the state, aside from a big vacation to Florida, Kansas, or New Mexico, has been able to see these incredible places. We've also built the largest agrivoltacis site in the US up in Longmont, Colorado, which sometimes feels like a second home because of all of the travel up to the site. I get to work with the most incredible and dedicated scientists and farmers - a real benefit of such a use-inspired research program! Thankfully, I was also able to advance to the Full Professor level, meaning that the last of the professional hurdles are behind me. I know that none of this would be possible without the support of my amazing wife and extended family - both chosen and given.
The kids:
Willa is taking growth spurts seriously. She is now approaching 5’9 and started playing basketball for the first time. She is well into her first season on the Freshman/Sophomore and Junior Varsity team at her high school and is enjoying the challenge of a new sport along with meeting some great friends and benefiting from the community afforded by being a part of a team. She graduated from 8th grade last Spring after somehow enjoying middle school. Despite spending some of 6th grade and all of 7th grade at home she finished 8th grade excited about learning and with many enduring friendships. Her current interests are reading, listening to music, playing guitar, and playing video games with friends. She is discriminating, observant and can roll her eyes really well. She’s a great big sister and we couldn’t love her more. We are lucky to have her for as long as we can before she launches out into the world.
Evan is now 10 and has a very inquisitive mind. He enjoys school, specifically anything to do with math and science, along with playing minecraft with friends. He began taking piano lessons about a year and a half ago and absolutely loves to play for anyone, anywhere, at any time. He, too, enjoys reading books, including Harry Potter, fantasy, and the spy and mystery genre. He runs on the cross country team in the Fall each year, takes parkour at a local gym and, in August, became the proud pet owner of Mozart, the long-haired syrian hamster. Mozart is adorable.
We are also the caretakers of 7 chickens, a dog Leia and our almost 19 year old cat, Haley. I believe she has just taken her last trip around the sun and we have all been spending quality time with her lately.
We are lucky to have wonderful friends and neighbors in Tucson and work that is fulfilling and community driven. Please check back here occasionally to see more moments in our life.
Life-giving activities we enjoy:
Amy: Reading The Wild Robot series with Evan, listening to music by Jon Batiste and Brandi Carlile, dreaming up creative ideas for our home, working in our yard, walks with friends and watching TV and films with Greg.
Evan: making s’mores (regardless of the outside temperature), creating things out of cardboard boxes, the genius that is Minecraft, telling jokes.