Day 212 – Laureates…

As a lifelong learner I’ve had the blessed gift of having great teachers in my life. The best have been the most curious. They each had an insatiable drive to know more and to learn and apply what they learned. One of my heroes was my grandmother, ‘Gogi’ (appellation derived from her eldest grandchild, my brother. Our family tradition is that the first grandchild gets to name the grandparents…and boy, do we have some doozies in terms of names in our family). 

Gogi was a spitfire. Small in stature yet not one to be messed with. Brilliant, too. She was the first woman to graduate from the University of Chicago in 1921. First. Woman. In an era when women were not to be invested in in terms of education other than ‘finishing school’. Full props to my great grandparents who so valued education that they encouraged her to pursue her degree. She was a history major and whip smart. One of my regrets in life was not recording her answering my curious questions about life, wars and our family history (which she knew through multiple generations and could recite chapter and verse). Her curiosity and learning went beyond knowledge. It became wisdom as she applied it to real life, whether in the context of 1940 or 2000. And she shared it with me. She passed the learning on. 

Gogi lived through an era of having gaslights as street lamps to seeing the invention of the automobile to the discovery of antibiotics to putting a man on the moon to the beginning of the digital age. Think about the leaps in knowledge just therein. She remained insatiably curious throughout. We also shared a love of Jeopardy and would compare how we did each round. Gogi still beat me at age 97. Of course she did. 

As I wrap up this month of sharing my And’s to BBTL, I’d like to introduce you to one of our awesome Band mates and Builder, Doug Brown (aka, Brownie). To me, Doug is a quintessential Renaissance man. He is an awesome husband, father, son, brother, friend, Builder, leader, entrepreneur, philanthropist, creative…this list could go on. Oh, and he is one of the most humble, gifted and articulate leaders I’ve ever known. He’s lived the hard yards with all grace. He’s put in the work. He’s invested in what he believes in. He gives and gives. He believes and gives belief to others. And… his life and work are now bearing generational fruit. He has made our world better. He makes us better. 

You will enjoy learning from Brownie and hearing his voice in writing. Get ready to learn ‘What Brown can do for you’!

Live each moment. Love without measure. Believe without limits. Be who you were created to be. 

Isaiah 64:4