Last night I was reminded (again) how amazing my wife is.
We were invited by Russell Wilson and his Why Not You Foundation to attend their first inaugural fundraising event. It was an intimate event with ~150 people including many former athletes. We sat and had dinner w/ HOFer Steve Largent, his wife, Terry, and Jim Zorn’s wife, Joy. Such open and genuine people.
However, my fav part was simply being with my wife. She’s one of those people that you just want to be around. Always.
At an event with so many movers & shakers, it’s easy to be a bit intimidated and try to be someone different than your authentic “you” for fear of not being accepted. Don’t do anything drastic that would give folks the impression that you don’t belong there and, if they think you’re “one of them” (whatever that means), then maybe they’ll like you.
However, there is great irony in this belief.
The more you try to be the kind person you *think* someone will like, the less likely you are to make a meaningful connection.
My wife has never been afraid to be herself – no matter who is present. She’s personable, loves to laugh, and doesn’t take herself too seriously.
When we met Ciara, she asked my wife where she’s from. When Ioana replied “Romania,” Ciara said “I love Bucharest!” and they began talking about the city, Michael Jackson (not sure why… lol), slapping hi-5s, and more. Both were comfortable being themselves, and it showed.
It was another stark reminder about how lucky I am to have her in my life.
And I wasn’t the only one who felt that way about their wife.
Russell expressed a similar sentiment about Ciara when he addressed the crowd, and I chatted with Russell’s agent, Mark, and the Founder of Good Man Brand, Dean, and we were laughing at the fact that we all “married up!” We weren’t laughing because it was a joke… Rather because we couldn’t believe that we found such incredible women to join us in the journey called life.
With an evening filled we so many incredible moments, it was all the amazing wives that I met that left quite an impression on me.
I guess the saying is true: behind every great man is a greater woman.
I know that’s true for me.
