My Brother, the MBA

I have a memory of the first day of 1st grade in elementary school of my brother and I.  In it, one of my parents told me to look after my brother and make sure that we find each other so we could all go home together when the school day finished.  As a big brother, I took that responsibility seriously and when the day came almost to an end, I wandered off from my class to find my brother in his first day at Kindergarten.  He was just down the hall and it was not long before I found my brother and told him that we needed to find each other so we could go home.  I felt proud fulfilling my brotherly duties and was pleased I found him so quickly.

Then Wayne, looked at me with narrowed eyes and said that he knew already what needed to happen and that simply wasn’t time to go yet.  Plus, the look in his eyes conveyed he was perfectly fine without my help.  It wasn’t arrogance, but just a self-confidence that he was okay without me.

Being only five years old, I didn’t know what to do with this development.  He was fine and he didn’t need me.  I wandered back to my class and promptly got in trouble from my teacher for wandering off.

The rest of our childhood is as you would expect for young brothers who were only a year apart in age.  Much of it was spent in competition with each other in one way or the next,  punctuated with periods of dislike, highlighted with those moments where we were each other’s best friend, cooperating and happy.  As we got older and our paths diverged more, there was less of the competition and more friendship.  When we finally got to college, we took our own paths.

Many years have passed since those days and I have to admit I wonder in awe of what my brother has accomplished since leaving high school.  He habitually sets goals for himself, achieves them, then sets the bar even higher.  It was a trait that served him well in college and even better out of it.  An admirable quality he has is that if he has an opportunity, he will weigh the pros and cons; if he takes that opportunity, he will not waste it but makes the most of it.  He does this with grace, humility and humor.

On Saturday, Wayne hit another milestone when he received his MBA.  If I’m not mistaken, he is one of the first persons in the Boerger family to receive an advanced degree.  To celebrate this grand achievement, Wayne and Gretchen invited friends and family to their own house for brunch.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it down there that day although I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make it work.  I desperately wanted to be there, but couldn’t.

I know Wayne reads the blog occasionally, so I want to direct this next part to him:

If it had been possible to see you this weekend, I would have given you a hug and told you congratulations.  At times, that can be enough and you hope it is and that it captures your happiness for them.  But all I have is words and I hope I can be eloquent enough to let you know how proud I am of you and that I’m absolutely thrilled that you were able to earn your MBA.  I know how much time and energy it took and how much both you and your family sacrificed for this.  I know that you consistently set a good example for your kids…and for all of us, really.  I may not have been there this weekend, but we were there in spirit and were sending you all our good wishes from afar.  I think it’s fantastic that you’ve completed this long road and wish that I could convey the joy I feel for you.  Congratulations again, Wayne!