Happy New Year from the O'Keefes
Dear Family & Friends, 01-Jan-2025
Jimmy and Darren describe the birth of Quinn Thomason O’Keefe as a “hard launch.” She arrived right on time Dec 10th in Alabama, where their surrogate Brandi gave birth to a 9-pound, 7-ounce, 21-inch little girl. Joan describes her as “perfect,” and I think she looks identical to Darren (minus the beard). When she was 2 days old, Quinn boarded her first flight—back to their Brooklyn brownstone where they live a real-life version of Sesame Street. The two dads are figuring out how to raise their beautiful baby daughter one day at a time. Quinn gets plenty of maternal love too. Besides two doting grandmas and four adoring aunts, Theodora, their Toller dog has devoted her life to watching over Quinn with a vigilant, fierce mamma-bear love. Anytime the baby even whimpers, Theo chimes in, amplifying the cries to let J & D know that Quinn needs their attention—NOW! Theo also licks Quinn’s face to be sure she’s a big daily dose of probiotics. Love is love, and baby Quinn is bathed in love 24/7.
During his speech at Evan and Mary Kate’s wedding in Ireland in August, Jimmy joked that Ev and MK were part of a new demographic subgroup called HESLIB—High-Earners Still Living In Basement. Just this month they moved into their first home, a quaint ranch in Prairie Village only a mile away from us. Unsurprisingly, they seem to be cheerier now that they are living together in their own home for the first time in their 6-year relationship. I am sad about not having the nonstop commotion and in-home playmates, but everyone else seems happy about the new living arrangements. Mary Kate has been remodeling and decorating their new home with inspired passion that looks like nesting behavior, which makes me wonder. Grant is in 6th grade and has found his people at Belinder School where during his first semester he has straight A’s and did not end up in the Principal’s office even once. Evan is still a Cardiology Fellow and will be middle-aged by the time he finally finishes training and secures his first “real job.”
We try not to brag, because God knows we have plenty to be modest about. I’m grateful to have such a fun, fascinating and loving family, even if we are a bunch of high-functioning maniacs with ADHD, or OCD, or an anxiety disorder harnessed for productivity, or all the above. Kathleen’s siblings have always considered her the creative kid in the family and assumed she was destined to be a poor starving artist. She’s been quietly and doggedly pursuing her “unrealistic” dreams at Hearst Magazines, and does freelance writing as a side hustle.
Caroline will graduate from law school in May. She has spent the last 3 years arguing with us about politics over dinner and has a natural gift for filibustering, so I think she stumbled her way into the right career. Even so, like her father, she will need help keeping her life organized. Caro changed or missed her flight 5 times trying to get home this Christmas.
In 2024, Joan lived up to her Joan of Arc namesake. “Joan Up,” as opposed to “Man Up,” is a battle cry for feminist warriors. She marched bravely into open-heart surgery about 9 months ago and soldiered on through a complete cardiac overhaul—a cardiac transplant would have been easier to survive. Despite multiple near-fatal complications, she emerged fully intact and ambitious as ever. Joan credits her miraculous, albeit slow, recovery to the many people praying for her, though Kathleen thinks it also might have been the years of curcumin and omega-3 supplements that protected Joan’s brain. Wisdom from Joan’s mother, Kathleen, still rings true, “Joanie, nobody ever promised you that life was going to be easy.”
Indeed, 2024 turned out to be full of challenges and blessings; I suspect 2025 will be too. My grandmother Alice used to say, “It’s a wonderful life … as long as you don’t weaken.” Here’s to 2025—may it be full of promise and strength and love.
Happy New Year & Lots of Love,
The O’Keefe family