Dear Joseph and Lucia,

What an incredible past few months. First of all, I hope both of you are well. My thoughts have been on you guys and how you’ve been dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. I wonder if you’ve been hunkered down in dorms or apartments, or have you been staying with your Mom? Did you finish the last school year ok?

I’ve been working from home in Richardson since early March. Due to my medical situation, I’m considered high-risk, so I’ve been in quarantine since the moment it was recommended. Work was really good about it. As a matter of fact, not even a week after I started working remotely, the rest of my team did the same. I really enjoy just getting up and going into my office here at the house and logging in. We have a good infrastructure, so for the most part, I’m just as productive from home. As an added bonus, since I’m not eating at the cafeteria at work, I’ve lost about 10 pounds and have been going for walks with Michele.

And speaking of work, we have a REALLY big launch coming up in two days. Our Demo-2 launch on May 27 will launch two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. I can’t emphasize how big this is for SpaceX. We’ve been working towards this goal for many years and had to work through many set-backs and hurdles to get to this point. And as it turns out, launch is on my birthday. As of this morning, there’s only a 40% go for launch due to weather, but I’m hopeful. I’ll be heading down to Waco tomorrow evening to join up with my teammates to watch the launch together.

In some other news, I went to Hot Springs, Arkansas last weekend just to get out of the house and see the old town. My dad lived there when he was in high school and my mom’s family are all from there. They never met there, but years later in Nebraska. When I found the old tombstones of my Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather, the gravestone for my Great Aunt (Dantie) was there, but didn’t have a death date on it. So, Michele and I found the old family house and low and behold, there she was… 92 years old with a sharp mind and a spring in her step. We spent the rest of the weekend with her sharing stories and catching up. It had been 30 years since I last saw her. She asked all about you two and I told her what I could. So there you have it, you guys have a Great-Great Aunt who would love to meet you.

While we were in Hot Springs, we stayed at the historic Arlington Hotel. It was incredible. It was built in 1924. Due to the pandemic, there were only a handful of guests and all the amenities were closed. It was spooky to say the least. I took a lot of pictures. It was almost like we were in the movie The Shining.

So with this, I will end it here today. I hope you two will read these letters soon and reach out. I’m waiting for you. The pool is open back up for the summer and it would be wonderful if you guys could come and stay for a while. We have room and you’d be welcome with open arms. I think about you guys every day and pray you guys are healthy and happy.

Love,
Dad