Thursday is the best day of the week for me. On Thursdays, I volunteer at our local Meals on Wheels in the kitchen preparing the food for the drivers to deliver. It's particularly rewarding because it's not just a kitchen. This particular Meals on Wheels operates out of a local community center for senior citizens. So, not only do I get to work with the amazing kitchen staff and volunteer drivers, I get to interact with people who have some pretty amazing life stories.
There's this one gentleman named Bob who has particularly touched my heart. He's 94 years old and is a retired contractor. He's a little hard of hearing but his eyes sparkle with energy and he has this really dry sense of humor. He's the domino shark at the center. No one has beaten him yet, but everyone still tries. I have the distinct honor of losing to him the least which makes me a winner in his eyes!
One day we were chatting and I asked him, "Bob, what do you know?" He's 94 years old for goodness sakes and I knew he had to have some nugget of wisdom for me. "Well, Zara," he said. "What I know is this. I never wanted to be 94 years old. Until I turned 93, that is!"
With that comment, I realized that there is so much to learn from just the average joe. There are a lot of resources out there written by experts on this and experts on that and I read quite a few of them myself. You will even find me blogging about them from time to time. But for the Reparapy blog, I want the focus to be on life solutions, coping strategies, and living life to the fullest from the perspective of just ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
So I'm asking all my family, friends, and business associates to participate in this quest to find the answer to the question, "What do you know?" on various subjects relating to improving the mind, body, and spirit.
This week, I seem to be juggling a lot of balls in the air. Between new product development, integrating the accounting system with manufacturing, starting new marketing initiatives, sometimes it's hard to know whether I'm coming or going. So, how about we start this off with the topic: "What do you know about handling multiple projects at one time?"
I look forward to hearing your comments and always welcome your suggestions for this blog as well as our products.
Cheers,
Zara Kramer
CEO
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I love this story. I am in the same situation as you, trying to promote my products, developing new ones and balancing that with family life. Today, I was spending time editing photos on the computer and my two year old came up to me and asked me to color with her. I told her I was busy working and she sad "oh gosh, too bad" and shrugged her shoulders. It was kind of an eye opener. I know I would rather sit up in the middle of the night and do my work than miss out on time with my little kids. Life is too short.
I love that. "I never wanted to be 94 until I turned 93." Wow.
For someone who really knows the world and has experienced the rise and fall of countries, lived through several wars, and been bombarded by the speed we create and invent things, it is really admirable to know he loves life in all its splendor. I'd like to meet this guy!
"When you change the way you see things....the things you see change." - anonymous
What a great piece of wisdom! Bob sounds like a great character. It's great that you volunteer with the Meals on Wheels. As a university student I find that I don't get to interact enough with the really young or with elderly people very much, and I find myself missing these influences in a big way.