Happy Birthday! Today my beautiful wife has a birthday. And here I am states away (I don't know how many, I barely know where Wisconsin even is).
I'm away because Beth supports my big ideas and my big dreams. She is watching our 87 children by herself this week because she has always supported my crazy ideas. Like, I don't know, leaving a job after barely more than a year to try to join a company that makes bicycles (yes bicycles). I've had crazier ideas before.
I once wanted to help a friend start a company. For those of you who don't know, 'start a company' is secret code for: work long hours, stress more about pay, feel like an idiot, have crappy benefits, lose sleep, make spouse stressed, not be around when it matters, not cleanly complete sentences. She supported me patiently in that failed mission.
I once wanted to leave a company of 5 years where I was a manager to do consulting (yes consulting). I once wanted to rent an office, I once wanted to work from home and thus buy a huge desk, I once wanted to ride by bike across Georgia, I (we) wanted to go to Utah, I once wanted to ride my bike all night, I once wanted to see how much sushi I could eat in 3 hours, I once, I once.
Because of Beth none of those 'I once' stories end with me saying 'but I didn't', 'but it was weird'. And none of them start out with 'I once had an idea', they are all 'I once did'. For all that women can provide men that we can't provide ourselves they can provide freedom and confidence to do risky things, things beyond ourselves (like eating sushi), that make us live as better versions of ourselves.
Beth - Happy Birthday, and thanks for always allowing me to do crazy things. Any success that I have ever had is because of your support.
