I will be on vacation soon, and I am really looking forward to it. Time away is good for the soul, and sometimes a forced break is exactly what is needed.
However, I am worried about our dog Olive and my vegetable and flower gardens. Ok, this may sound silly but it is challenging to find the right person who can both watch my dog and tend to our garden. My timing is not great this year as I know the tomatoes will all be ripe while I am gone and a huge mess of cucumbers as well.
Our sitter needs to love vegetables and dogs. At least I am confident that our watermelons will not be close to being ripe, as we have never mastered the “challenge” of the watermelon. What is it about watermelon? We keep trying every year but are never successful.
Now Olive is a big furry mess who loves to fetch but is shy and skittish of loud noises. This past weekend much time was spent calming her down from the noise of fireworks and firecrackers.
Maybe I really do need a vacation, but I believe the work at my house will take a combination of love, discipline, energy and optimism.
That is a good combination of attributes and attitudes for many situations and scenarios, all of which are needed to work here at the Foundation. We hope you sense these attributes and attitudes when interacting with our team. They seem to be contagious among us and we hope also with you as you work with us.
We all love what we do and are passionate about philanthropy. We have the discipline to ensure long-term growth of your assets, have the energy to work with you on researching grant possibilities, remain focused on the tasks at hand and are optimistic about the future.
I therefore am confident that my garden and pet will be well cared for and my vacation will be a success!