Welcome to the Mellow Madness update.
This is a space for thinking out loud about building, leading, and serving, especially in complex environments.
This past Saturday marked 11 years of marriage.
My wedding anniversary falls on Valentine’s Day, a date already associated with commitment. Anniversaries carry a different weight. They measure not sentiment, but endurance, adjustment, and growth.
This year, my wife and I marked the occasion with our three girls at Hôtel des Mille Collines, a place with its own long history.
Inaugurated in 1973, the hotel has stood through decades of change. Fifty three years of presence in Rwanda’s central business district. Close enough to the city’s rhythm to feel it. Stable enough to endure it.
There is something instructive about institutions that last.
Longevity is rarely accidental. It requires stewardship. Adaptation. Attention to context. A willingness to evolve without losing identity.
Marriage, in its own way, demands the same.
Eleven years is not a headline. It is a series of small decisions made repeatedly. To stay aligned. To adjust when necessary. To respond rather than react.
In leadership and in life, commitment does not mean rigidity. It means remaining rooted while learning in real time.
I am grateful to Dennis Rukabu and the team at Hôtel des Mille Collines for their hospitality. Network makes the dream work, and their staff embody that spirit with quiet professionalism.
As this season continues, I find myself reflecting on the long view.
What are we building that can endure?
What commitments are we stewarding, not just announcing?
Where are we adapting without losing who we are?
What are we leaving for our children and generations to come?
Strong foundations are not loud.
They simply last.
Thank you for reading.
Warm regards,
