My Dad had an uncle that he really loved. He and his wife never had children. They lived alone and died alone. They loved their nieces and nephews deeply, but time pulled one another apart. Dad in his 80's and only one sister remaining in her 90's. The miles kept them apart and they would only hear of "aunt and uncle" by word of mouth. We did not have an address nor location where they lived. Dad always spoke kindly of him. His aunt passed away years ago, but his uncle lived well into his 90's.
One day, a call came that this uncle passed away. My very first thought was, "Am I going to have to fly out and help my cousin with this estate?" I asked my aunt and cousin and neither of us knew, so we waited. A few days later an attorney called and said, "There is nothing you need to do, they set up everything from the selling of the home, vehicles, even down to sorting through books and every little belonging in the home. They set up complete estate plan, so the nieces and nephews needed to do nothing." He said, "Our firm will handle everything, and all your dad will need to do is sign paperwork."
I was absolutely blown away by that planning. I did not know them, but the impact they made on my life with that one gesture, was enormous. I could only think how much they loved their nephews and nieces to have this done.
I've been reading a book by David Green, the founder of Hobby Lobby and he talks about building for the next 150 years, not just the next generation. That takes planning and organizing. That takes laying foundations to endure the hard times and planning 20-30 years ahead.
I'm a planner, an organizer by nature but still have so much more to do and learn. I loved this chapter and all the great tips and ideas to plan for company coming to your home. Karen gives lots of great tips.
What tips do you have for planning? Hurricane season is fast approaching, and we all survived the eclipse so we're good on that one! Mother's Day, Graduations, Father's Day, July 4th and birthdays are on the horizon. Are you ready?
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