Let's manage expectations!

Business 101 - manage expectations. Parenting 101 - manage expectations!

In just about 5 weeks we head to S. Africa for a wedding. My good friend Taddy Blecher, social entrepreneur and founder of the free university in Johanneburg and his lovely bride Annie, will celebrate their wedding (in Iowa in June), with a reception for the friends on the other continent. Hunter is coming with us and is then staying on for 16 more days to do some voluteer work for Taddy. He will either help with math / English tutoring around the university, or help out at an orphanage, or at the large nature & animal reserve donated to Taddy by the Oppenheimers. We don't have a clear idea yet what Hunter will be involved in, but needless to say it will be a fantastic experience.

Very apropos, in the newspaper this morning was an article about the value of volunteer work and charity to your CV. I told Hunter about it and he responded "mom, I know - why do you think I'm going to S. Africa? I want to have that on my CV for college!" Doah!! How silly of me to think he wanted to help the African children....let's not get confused here. We need to manage expectations! "Besides, mom - it will also give me credit for CAS (creativity, action and service -a needed element of the IB Diploma) and the Duke of Edinburgh Award!" Well there you go, my son truly cares. I knew I had raised him with a desire to help the needy.

A memory springs to mind to when we left the US for Denmark in the summer of 1999 and sold all our worldly possesions in a garage sale for 10 cents on the dollar. Aidan, then age 7, told me he thought we should keep the house and let homeless people live in it. That came from the heart. Hunter's heart is just a little bit more hidden.... ;-)

Despite what his reasons for going seem to be, I am certain that this will turn out to be a life changing experience for him. Anybody who has spent even a few days in Johannesburg can vouch for the great disparity between have and have not and need for better social and educational conditions. I bet he comes back humbled!