Pledge of Hope

One of my favorite “givers” is Bill Gates.  He is, of course, the co-founder of Microsoft.  I have always admired Gates for his spirit of giving. My first introduction to his generosity was in the 1990’s when he donated computers to every library in North America (including Prince Albert’s library). He continued to give to many different charities and organizations over the years.

 

By now most of us have heard of his latest and most generous project in which he has pledged to give away at least half of his fortune, and he is inspiring other billionaires to give away some of their money! In 2010, Gates, his wife Melinda Gates and his friend Warren Buffet created a new organization called "The Giving Pledge". This exclusive club consists of only billionaires and they must pledge to give away at least half of their total wealth to charity during their life or after their death. The extremely wealthy in the USA are impressed, and this organization has received an incredible response.  After only three years in existence, The Giving Pledge now includes almost ninety families of billionaires!  Last week, Sir Richard Branson signed up and he has pledged to give away at least half of his vast fortune.  All indications are that he actually plans to give more than half away.  In recent months, George Lucas, Mark Zuckerberg and Ted Turner have made similar pledges.   With so many struggling families in North America, it is admirable that Gates and friends would help out in this unique and generous manner. By being very public about their donations, members of the Giving Pledge hope to inspire others to share their good fortune. They believe that when people know what others are giving, they are more likely to also give.  This is true of other billionaires, but the Giving Pledge hopes to inspire us all to donate what we can.  Big or small, every donation and act of kindness impacts the lives of others.

 

Bill Gates could have chosen live in his own world of comfort and excess, and to turn a blind eye to the hardship of others. It is interesting to note that he has fallen from number one to two on the Forbes List of Billionaires even though he continues to generate incredible wealth.  The reason Gates is no longer number one is because he has given away so much of his wealth. Imagine: in 2011, he literally gave away his title as the World’s Richest Man.  How refreshing and wonderful that he not only helps by donating half of his incredible wealth, but inspires other wealthy families to do so as well.  Gates and Buffet are now contacting  billionaires from other countries in the hope of having them join the Giving Pledge.  It will be interesting and exciting to see which billionaire is the next to sign up.  Bill Gates is an intelligent man with billions of dollars and a heart of gold who can talk the super rich into a super pledge.  One on the richest men in the world, he chose to share his wealth to help others, beginning in his own back yard.  It doesn’t get any better than that!  Sharing the wealth . . . it's a good thing!

The "Filler" Month

 

February   bears the distinction of being the cold month which simply marks the time between the dead of winter and the first inkling of spring. There is no aftermath of holidays, which we experience in January. There is not yet the great expectation, as in March, of wonderful spring weather just around the corner. It seemingly just exits as a filler between the changing of seasons. However, there are two days of "love" in this otherwise boring month: Valentine's Day and Family Day.  

What woman doesn't love Valentine's Day? It is a day in which the norm is flowers, chocolate and plush stuffed animals. It is the one day of the year when men feel they can wear their hearts on their sleeves and proclaim their love.  Couples feel free to spoil each other and enjoy the silly and wonderful little things that makes this day so special. 
 
Children love this day too.  Walk into any elementary school class room this week and you will see pink and red hearts decorating hallways and bulletin boards.  Of course, there is the exchange of valentines at the class party which makes this day so special to children.  I always enjoyed this tradition as a child and kept my valentines in a special folder for many years.  I think I probably still have it tucked away somewhere. 

While Valentine’s Day has been celebrated for many years, Family Day is a relatively new holiday.  It was created in 2007 as a way to fill in the long stretch between the January 1 holiday and Easter, and to encourage families to spend the day enjoying activities together.   Since it was proclaimed five years ago, it has grown each year as families take time to appreciate being together and doing things together.  Whether families  simply spend the day watching movies and enjoying a meal together, or spend the day outside sledding and skating, the time spent together helps to create a bond.  Families are creating memories which might not have happened if there was not a special day in February for doing so. 

I’ve come to realize how important it is to tell loved ones how you feel and to make sure they know.  No one ever hears the words “I love you” too often!  We are all fortunate to have people in our lives that we love and who love us.

By the end of this week, Valentine’s Day and Family Day 2013 will have come and gone.  I hope you spent Valentine’s Day this year with a special person who makes you happy; and I hope that on Family Day, you took the time to be with your family and enjoyed your day.  And I hope you told all of them how much you love them.   Enjoying special days with special people . .  . it’s a good thing!

A Second Chance

In my last blog update, I wrote about how many of my friends and family members have become grandparents for the first time.  That got me to wondering:  when did we become old enough to be grandparents?  When did that happen and why didn’t I see it coming?  How is it possible that one day our children are babies and then they are having babies of their own? Where did the time go?   I guess life happened and, just as every generation of parents before us, we were busy too living life to notice the years marching on.  Maybe that’s the real reason we are given the opportunity of becoming grandparents:  it is a second chance to slow down and enjoy the children in our family and to see life through the eyes of a child.

At family events over the past few years, I have realized that I am witnessing generational passages. Our children are graduating from high school and university, finding the love of their lives, beginning their careers, and having babies.  How wonderful to witness it all and now to be a part of the lives of their children, the next generation.   It seems like it was only yesterday we were holding our own children in our arms and now we are holding their children. Families grow, husbands and wives are introduced into and become a part of the family circle and new babies begin to appear. The next generation is on the move.  

How fortunate for us that we are given that second opportunity to really enjoy the lives of the children we love; and children are fortunate to have that unconditional and total love.  There is an immense bond between grandparents and their grandchildren.  Children often lament that their parents never let them get away with or do the things that they let their grandchildren do.  Perhaps it is because we have “mellowed-out” a little.  Perhaps it is because we know that in the blink of an eye, these precious little people grow up and begin lives of their own.

We will, no doubt, tell our new mothers and fathers to slow down a little and to take the time to enjoy their children however they will – like every generation before them – live busy lives  and suddenly find themselves with grown children.  But it’s all right, in twenty or thirty years, they too will get a second chance - when they have grandchildren of their own. Enjoying our time with our special little ones . . . it’s a good thing!