I attended a 50th Birthday party in Stockholm this past summer for my friend JD. It was a blast!
I'm not easily impressed although it
was hard not to be on this night. The extreme diversity in the room, along with
the love and emotion from family, friends and colleagues touched me deeply. His
Swedish father-in-law even gave a moving speech (in Swedish) with 20 family
members standing behind him.
His two Daughters and Wife
wrote a song for him and played it in video form, which almost brought tears to
my eyes.
It was a wonderful night (and
evening before at a Stockholm hotspot) that not only gave me further
insight into the man, but made me want to do more with my life.
JD is a giver and his work with
youth was in full display that night from his boss, who also spoke eloquently
about him. In addition, numerous friends (including myself) talked about
the man and what he has meant to us.
I'm proud of JD as he is someone who
is living life to the fullest. He’s a strong family man, has great friends,
works with youth and maybe most importantly, always has immense ‘fun’ while doing it.
In my opinion, life should be
measured by how we grow throughout our lives and JD has blossomed tremendously
over the ten years that I've known him. He never stops the focus on growing, learning and becoming a better
person. That's something we can all learn from and be inspired by.
Happy Gswede Sunday!
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| JD's Family in the Early Years |
