In the Moment

I was going to write about work this week as I love what I do. But too many “in the moment” things have occurred this week to let it pass.
In terms of Action Learning I have mentored many through the various levels. To get to the senior level requires delivering the classes observed. More often than not this is with a translator. It never ceases to amaze participants and trainers that I follow the conversation. I raise questions when something questionable happens, and applaud when something magical happens. I am so spot on with my reactions and guidance you’d think I spoke the native tongue.
For this week, I’ve been in Brazil. I am comfortable with a few words in Portuguese – I think I might be up to a dozen. Typically, in hotels and restaurants, this is not a problem because they have information in English or someone can converse in English. As this is a very American feeling hotel, including an outlet that doesn’t require a converter, I assumed I was set.
I went to the restaurant for dinner on the first night. The only waiter on duty spoke no English. I attempted ordering a glass of white wine. He brought a very nice bottle of red. Later I learned ordering wine by the glass is not typically done here. With a little help from google translate we were able to settle on a glass of red.
Each night I tried something different from the menu. They had an English translation that was interesting, to say the least. I order what was listed as Cheese Salada – it was a very nice cheeseburger with fries. From the description, I had expected the cheeseburger so I was more than satisfied.
The second night in the restaurant brought a new waiter on. He spoke some English and was anxious to practice. He made a point of watching for me each evening and taking care of me. He explained they had half bottles of wine (about 2 glasses) or you could buy a full bottle they would keep behind the bar, the full bottle being the better value.
Most nights, I’ve been here I’ve chatted with my daughters and granddaughter. The world has truly gotten smaller.
One night I had a particularly powerful conversation with my daughter in that she was processing through some intense stuff. My diagnosis came well she was starting her own family. There was no time to process the fear at that point. She’s looking at heading back to work and has realized she needs to process through it to be ok leaving her daughter in daycare.
After I was declared cancer-free my other daughter’s mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, as well as a friend or two. It seems to be everywhere. I’m convinced we have just gotten much better at early detection. I know many more folks that have beat cancer than those that have had cancer beat them. Although the diagnosis is still scary, it’s not the death sentence it once was.
But the peak on in the moment announcement came when my granddaughter called her aunt by name for the first time today. Although not quite perfect – she is thrilled to have the little one call her kaka.
Legacy moments from all over the world this week.