SquidRoad

Estate planning...kind of

My mom cracks me up.

She just visited me for my 44th birthday, traveling cross-country even against her own natural desire. She did it for me.

We made a few outings over last five days..some eating out, some making big meals and eating in, a good bit of shopping and overall lots of conversation. Largely about food, if I recall correctly.

But the funniest thing she did (this time) was some on-the-spot estate planning...at an estate sale. We passed a table filled with fancy teacups and saucers, and the ideas started to flow like a river. "Wow, look how much I can get for the ones I have!" and "I have some nicer ones than those...we can make a little money!"

Nearly knocked me over, I was laughing so hard. I mean, in the end, she won't care, right?

One of the things I love most about my mom is how open she is in talking about the things of life--love, loss, highlights, successes, failures...you name it. No topic is taboo with her. Guess that's why her grandkids love and consult her so much. In fact, it's something most people love about my mom.

Personally, I'm more inclined to let someone else figure out what to do with those fancy teacups. I'm not however, opposed to having a tea party with them before they're gone.

Does thinking make your head hurt?

A few years ago, I had one of those Aha! moments.

This one was a sinker: I realized I hadn't done any real, deep thinking in awhile. The kind that hurts. That kind that makes you struggle deep down inside, argue in your own head...so, naturally, it gives you a headache.

Now...it seems deep thinking is all I do. It's good--great, even. Just a little exhausting. Lots of headaches.

In terms of the online space, I've been trying for sometime to figure out what I really want to talk about as a blogger, or where I can make a contribution that's meaningful. My work is nonprofit. I work for an international org...spent years on the international side, in fact. I'm a marketing communications girl with a whole lot of interests.

While attending the NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference several months ago in Atlanta, I was telling some friends how, when I used to travel extensively, I felt safer traveling nearly anywhere else abroad than here in the US. Got a very puzzled look and a load of disbelief.

It's true, for the most part. I mean, there are definitely cities where you feel stalked if you don't look like everyone else, but honestly, that happened maybe 1% of the time. And closer to home than you think.

But I digress....kind of.

There are two main things I've learned in my work:

1. The human race -- we're all the same. We want the same things--to belong, to be loved, to make life better for our kids than we had it. Everywhere, it is the same.
2. International work is hard. It is supremely rewarding, just incredibly complex.

So I've decided to attempt to write, at least some, about working across cultural lines. Not that there aren't people much more expert than I...believe me, there are many. But I can speak to my own experience struggling with the same things any international NGO works through--making a real difference in the lives of others...and making that difference mean something to the person who supports the cause.

On the nonprofit side, this is where I'll start. Wish me luck.

If I get anywhere near my target, it'll feel like a homerun.