I’ve posted a lot of gloomy things here lately, so I thought I should give some attention to some of the good ones too. Three new babies have come into the world recently and that’s something to wear a goofy grin about.

First, my cousin Michelle Norville gave birth to her fourth child, Lucy Ann. Michelle and her husband Marcus are wonderful parents already, and Lucy comes into a home filled with a lot of love from arms both big and small.

Second, Judith Heise–the wife of my good friend John Kovalic of Dork Tower fame–gave birth to their first child, Louisa Claudette-Marie. This is especially poignant because John and Judith had tried for so many years and had a foreign adoption fall apart not so long ago. Ann and I struggled with our own infertility issues for many years, too–before we corrected them with a big (baby) boom, so we’re just thrilled for the newly formed Kovalic Trio.

Third, Rachel Butterworth-Tice–the wife of another good friend (and former employee at Pinnacle), Matt Tice–just gave birth to their first child too: Gregory David. I’ve known the proud parents for over a dozen years, and Gregory is one lucky kid.

To top this all off, my cousin Kate Williams and her husband Trevor are just about to have their first baby. They had some scares early in the pregnancy that sent Kate on bed rest, something my wife Ann knows only too much about from her time carrying the quads. We are ecstatic that the baby is now near enough to full term that she would no longer be considered a preemie if born even today, and we cannot wait to hear of her birth soon.

So, congratulations to all those very happy parents, and welcome all you lucky kids! We’re hoping to have you all around for a very long time to come.

While I was at my step-uncle Richard Lacy’s funeral on Wednesday, I learned of a horrible tragedy that had happened in Madison the day before. Ryan Dutter, formerly of Beloit, shot his disabled 12-year-old son and then killed himself.

I didn’t know Ryan personally. I went to school for many years with his older brother Pat, and Ryan was in my step-brother Dan Schooff’s grade. I often saw their mother Rosemary running around town, especially last year when we were looking for a bigger house.

It’s hard to imagine what could drive Ryan to such an act. I always respected his family and enjoyed their company, and it’s awful to contemplate what a horror this must be for them all.

My step-uncle Richard Lacy passed away on Sunday morning. Richard met and married my stepmother Nancy’s sister Sally later in life, but not too late for them to have their son Bill, whom I’ve known as a younger cousin for most of his life. Richard had three kids from a previous marriage, and while I’ve never met them, I’ve always heard good things about them too.

While the family is understandably sad at losing Richard, we know that he had a good, full life. It might not have been as long a life as we would have liked (is it ever?), but he was 79 when he passed. Despite the illnesses he’d suffered from in his final years, he went as gently as anyone could hope for. We should all be so fortunate.

The morning Richard died–before we knew he was gone–Ann and I brought the kids over to my father’s house for a huge family brunch. My whole step-family was there, along with my sister Kim and her family. That’s 22 people in all.

It was just the kind of gathering at which we often saw Richard, Sally, and Bill, and it felt very different knowing that we’d never have them all there again.

Good-bye, Richard. We’ll miss you, but we’ll remember you for the rest of our lives.