The Brilliant Minds Around Me and the Importance of Preserving Legacy

In fact, we were just talking about this at an event tonight, which reminded me to finally finish this post.

Looking at the six kids in my husband’s family alone, the list is impressive. Including their spouses, there are two chemists, two mathematicians, an engineer, a nurse, a computer programmer/director, one working toward her PhD in psychology, another with a master’s degree in clinical counseling, and a surgical assistant. My brother-in-law was also just elected judge in Wisconsin. I honestly have no idea how many degrees we collectively have. 

And then come the grandchildren.

Ethan is an aeronautical engineer for SpaceX. His brother Gabe is an aeronautical engineer for United Launch Alliance. I always think family gatherings between the two of them must be interesting since they work for competing companies and can’t say much about what they actually do.

Katherine is in her first year of medical school in Chicago. Kristianna is studying in an elite music program in Finland. You absolutely need to hear her sing and watch her perform here: Kristianna Woller

Our daughter Rylee, Lord willing, will attend medical school in the near future as well. Current goals for our other children are physical therapist, lawyer, and engineer, and I know they can do it. 

The rest of the grandkids are younger, so who knows what God has planned for their brilliant brains, but they are all incredibly talented, and I cannot wait to see how those gifts unfold over time.

One of my favorite parts of our family gatherings is when everyone naturally falls into singing in multiple parts. Even when it happens completely impromptu, it is something beautiful to experience. No matter where life takes them, they will always carry that music with them.

Then, after all of that Knowledge Bowl brilliance, we spent the next several hours watching coverage of the Artemis II crew landing. I continued listening to even more wonderfully nerdy conversations between my son and husband.

A few days earlier, I had messaged my rocket scientist nephews during the launch. One responded that while he may not have had any pieces on this flight, he will on the next. However, after working on more than 500 launches, he admitted it has lost a little of its glory. My other nephew responded that he was so close to the launch site that he couldn’t actually send me any photos.

Yeah… pretty cool.

Sometimes I think I forget that not every family has this many fascinating things happening all at once. However, just because the Woller family talents are highly visible, that does not mean other families are any less extraordinary.

Every family carries its own kind of brilliance, history, and legacy. Sometimes it just takes slowing down long enough to truly see it, preserve it, and remember that the people we love are often living through the moments we will someday miss the most.