Nala
started her life 13 years ago as an abandoned barn kitten who was rescued by
Irene's son, Alex. Nala was originally named Simba,
of the Lion King
fame, until 'she' was discovered to be a female. She became
a fuzzy welcome member of the Gaudet family and was
loved by all.
She lost a front
leg in a freak accident but learned to live without it and
lived well.
Nala on our couch a week prior to her passing away.
She entered my life
when Irene and I started dating about 6 years ago... and she
was not open to sharing with a man, any man. Initially she
would hiss and scratch or bite when I attempted to pet her.
Normally, I find animals easy to connect with and so I was
challenged. As I spent more time with Irene; and Nala, I took
deliberate steps to befriend and to spoil her. She wanted
to trust me, I could see it. But it took time, a lot of
time for her to come around.
She allowed
me to love her, and I did. I found myself talking
to her when she was sleeping on the couch and would see her
little tail wag in response. Irene and I would laugh when
she would approach her snack dish under the coffee table and
then look at me, if it was empty. And, I would get up and
give her some snacks. I'd look over when I was sitting at
my computer in the Mundare office and there she was keeping
me company. After Irene and were married, I loved that she
would come up on the couch and snuggle behind my knees...
as she fell asleep, a small paw would reach out to gently
rest on my leg. I loved her as I loved her mom...smile.
She passed away peacefully,
on my lap on Sunday (Nov. 22nd), while Irene and I talked
with her and petted her, tears running down our cheeks. She
had been sick in the last week or so and we found her lying
on the floor, too weak to even get on the couch, when we returned
from visiting our CAPS Calgary friends.
We will miss
her, alot. We'll 'even' miss Irene's frustration
with her when she got underfoot. Or, when she would decide
it was time for us to be awake and climb on us early each
morning to let us know. I'll miss her stretched on the bed
across my arm when Irene was up early and off to work. Amazing
how these warm little balls of fur can worm their ways into
our hearts, by allowing us to love them.
We often
encounter those who, initially, resist us, our friendships,
our service or our attempts to build a relationship.
Like Nala, they allow us to earn the right to love them or
to serve them in our professional roles. I remember going
through a similar exercise with Missy, one of my sister's
dogs. I am now Uncle Bob and they love me to death whenever
I visit her and her husband. (PS: I love it!)
We can continue doing
what we can to earn their trust, or we can quit and move on.
The choice is ours, but, from experience, the extra work is
so worth it!
Christmas is
coming and this is a great time to express our love
for those who have allowed us to love them. Whether Christmas
is just a nice story to you or a time to celebrate
the reason behind the season, it is a great time to reach
out and express your love, affection, and appreciation for
the important people in your life.
Perhaps the
perfect Christmas gift we can give is to love and allow ourselves
to be loved in return.
Her name was Nala and she
allowed me to LOVE her.
A very 'Merry Christmas' and a prosperous 2010 to each
of you.
Archives of past issues are
available on our www.ideaman.net website.
"Do not save your
loving speeches for your friends till they are dead. Do not
write them on their tombstones, speak them rather now instead."
Anna Cummins
Bob's note:
My friend Chris Widner shared this action point with me, and
I pass it along for your reflection. Perhaps at this time of
year, the best gift would be to acknowledge those who have impacted
your life. If you can't meet in person, call them, or write
them.
Chris Widener's Action Point:
Of course your friends assume that you must like them,
otherwise you wouldn't spend so much time with them, right?
But isn't it interesting how if that friend has a serious
accident or illness, we are all of the sudden compelled to tell them
how much we appreciate them? Sometimes they are gone before we know
it and we don't have the chance to say as much, except to others who
gather together to tell each other how much we all miss our friend.
We can be proactive though! We can make sure
that our friends know now how much we appreciate them and what we
admire about them. We must simply choose to tell them.
Action Point: Think of a friend you think
highly of. Now pick up the phone and invite them to lunch or coffee.
When you get there, enjoy the time, talk about all the fun things
you normally do, but be sure to take the time to let them know how
much their friendship means to you. They will appreciate it and your
friendship will deepen!
(c) 2009 Chris Widner
Last Minute News
November
November was a a hectic month working
with clients, speaking, visiting our CAPS Calgary Family and working
on new articles and website updates...(guess the updates never end.)
Just updated my www.BobHooey.com site completely, after creating a
bureau friendly site for use by a bureau in Alberta and in
preperation for my keynote for the PSA convention in Amsterdam next
March. Decided I liked it and reworked it to replace the existing
one page site with a more extensive 2 pager.
Working with an executive coaching
client over the next couple of months. Great guy and I am enjoying
our times together and his willingness to stretch and hone his
leadership skills.
I've had the privilege of
speaking around the world to a vast variety of audiences, which I
love.Once in awhile I get the privilege to address a very special
audience as I did last week.
I was invited to address Ms.
Sorensen's Grade 9 Leadership class at McKernan School last
week. What a great audience and an even greater experience.I have to
admit working to keep a younger audience engaged pushes me, but I
love it. I shared some ideas on personal leadership and effective
communication. I also told them about the benefits of being a
Toastmaster. I asked them if I could have my picture taken with them
and they graciously obliged me. Someday I will be able to look at
their picture and see some amazing leaders who stepped up and took
personal responsibilty and leadership and started changing their
worlds, and mine for the better. (We'll share it with you when we
get the permission slips back from the parents.)
December
Dec. 5th: Irene's staff
Christmas Party...great food and spending time with some of
her coworkers I've gotten to know over the year when I dropped
in for a coffee.
Dec. 6-8th: Off to our
CAPS National convention in Calgary. Should be lots of fun with a
western theme and dress code. Doing a session at the Meet the
Experts on Tuesday.
Dec 7th: Amanda's
birthday.
Dec 8th: Patti's birthday
Dec. 16th:
I love that we are having a
meeting of our CAPS Edmonton chapter in December....
bravo!
Dec 19th: Back to
Calgary if the schedule works to attend CAPS Calgary meeting and
attend their silent auction.
Working on year 4 issues of Secret Selling
Tips for one client and year 3 issues for one of our US clients.
I love it when an idea grows legs and more so when those legs
are helping other people. What a privilege!
In addition to the above, as well as Christmas
with Irene, Alex, her parents, and my sister Patti and Jerry;
December is going be a 'very' hectic month getting
everything cleared up, articles written, ezines roughed out for Jan.
and Feb., SST issues ready, so we can head to Australia in early
January (8th) to visit our daughter,Amanda, who is teaching in
Geraldon (2 hours north of Perth).
Not sure who is more excited, Irene or
Amanda, but it will be great to see her again. Plus, I never got to
that side of the country on my last visit and it will be great to
visit and take my trusty floaty for a ride or two off Australia's various
coasts.
Until next month... may I wish
each of you many blessings for this Christmas season.
Remember the reason for the season and take time
to share with those you love and serve. May God continue to
bless each of you.
PS; this picture was taken this past
March in Mexico... I will take my notebook with us to Australia...
you never know when you get an idea for an article, a new domain
name, or an idea tweak to a website while sitting next to the
ocean.
Late breaking
news
November had some fun experiences like my
visit with the Grade 9 Leadership Class...
One of them was
surprising my friend and next door neighbor, Steve, with an
Oilers cake on his 97th birthday. We went for lunch
like normal and the wait staff came out with the cake I dropped off
earlier. I loved seeing the shocked look on his face and the joy
(much like a very much younger man) when he reached out for
his piece.
Evidently it was well received as his
grand-daughter, Christine told me later he went on and on about his
Oilers birthday cake.
I
have been blessed to have Steve in my life, and through him
another extended family. His grandson, Kelly, baby's our various
cars and keeps them serviced so I can travel between Mundare and
Egremont, and the airport. Kelly is a great guy and an amazing
mechanic. Irene and I are please to have him and Christine as
friends and neighbors. PS: Did I mention Steve is a long time Oilers
fan... and then some! Not surprising, but so are Irene, Alex, and Amanda in our
family. Growing up in California, I never really learned to skate,
so enjoy watching a game once in awhile, but not like these
fanatics... smile.
Thanks for
reading
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Amazing to see we are
still very much in love and having fun together. I am truly
very blessed. Irene and I met and re-connected when we met at
a 50th wedding anniversary 6 years ago in November.
A perfect gift for the person who loves
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And you can share it with the whole family or
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He is proud to
be an active professional member of these amazing
groups of people dedicated to polishing their craft
and to better serving their clients and audiences.
Bob is the co-founder
and a past president of CAPS Vancouver, an honorary
founding member of CAPS Sask., an honorary member
of CAPS Halifax, as well as being an active member
of CAPS Edmonton. He served as CAPS National Director
(2000-2002).
He would be happy
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