Home › Posts › Mar 26, 2023

An Open Letter to My Mental Boardroom

Dear Distinguished Board Member,

I'm am pleased to inform you that you've been accepted as a member of my mental boardroom. Congratulations! This position comes with no extra compensation but it also comes with no strings, expectations, or responsibilities attached.

You have been selected not because of your tenure, perfection, or what you have to offer but because of your composition of character, generosity of spirit, and approach to life. You have been an important voice inside my head and I'm a better person because of it.

Each board member, who shall, for the most part, remain anonymous, has helped me to create a life that I love and that I'm proud of and pushed me to be a better person in this world.

In no particular order, you, collectively, have:

Helped me put things in perspective.
Helped me have more fun.
Helped me stay active.
Helped me find the humor.
Helped me be patient.
Helped me show kindness.
Helped me find the right words.
Helped me realize that it's going to be OK. Really.
Helped me make an important decision.
Helped me listen.
Helped me grow as a human and a husband and a dad.
Helped me feel just a little better.

I think Slimkid3 from Pharcyde put it best:

There comes a time in every man's life
When he's gotta handle shit up on his own
Can't depend on friends to help you in a squeeze
Please, they got problems of their own

Maybe you've watched my kids in a pinch or helped me move one (or many) times or let me borrow something I needed, and for that, thank you once again. But your position as Board Member means that you have helped me through hard times by merely existing. Maybe I remember a conversation we had at just the right time to give me perspective or maybe your voice came into my head when I was deliberating a hard choice or maybe I just felt like a better person because you choose to be in my life. You are there with me through the hardest of hard times and I know, if I need to, I could call or text but, if I don't, you still still have the power to help. Selflessly, graciously, and unknowingly as a model and example for the best person I can be in the moment.

You help me handle shit on my own.

Thank you again for what you've shown and taught me over the course of however long that I've known you. I sincerely hope that I have made a positive mark on your life as well, whatever the size.

Specifically to my wife, Anna ... your position as a member of this Board is not incidental to our marriage. You have been a source of growth, inspiration, and motivation for the almost 2 decades that I've known you. You have had a hand in all of the things on that list above and, intensionally and otherwise, have helped me push far past who I ever thought I could be. I am honored to know you as I do.

Specifically to my kids ... you have played an essential part in all this by being never-failing diving rods pointing to my deficiencies, anxieties, shortcomings, and mistakes. You are the truest truth that I know of and the source of immense, and often painful, growth. When I can handle all of my stuff combined with all of your stuff and still laugh at the end of the day, I feel like like a god. Thank you for that challenge.