Pamela Sutton-Legaud

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November 27th 2011

It’s nearly Christmas…
How is that possible? Only 4 weeks or so til another year comes to a close and we think about new year resolutions made and long forgotten and set about making new ones.
I look back at my resolutions… one of which was to keep my blog up to date…hmmm didnt do too well on that. But instead of chastising myself on my failings, I will indulge myself a little by looking to my successes.
I have tried to help motivate my sister just a little bit with her fabulous business www.madamefrufru.com.au (very little really, she did 99.9% very much on her own); I helped my husband find the courage to look for a new job which he did successfully, gaining along the way the recognition he deserved for his talents; I worked hard to motivate and lead my team to a fabulous year of fundraising and constituency engagement and built their own talents at the same time. I got out there and gave two ‘Create the working life you love’ workshops… it was supposed to be more like 6 or 7 but hey, 2 was a good start I spent a lovely two weeks with my mother on holiday in France (which she had only ever visited for 1 day and she lives just across the channel in England!) spending gentle quiet time together, sitting by a softly gurgling river, joined by butterflies and kingfishers.
Yes, i gained more pounds than i intended, only on my waist rather than my bank account, of course! And as for finishing my book… well that will have to wait another year I fear.
All in all, not a bad year… and they were just a few of the milestones. It’s good to look up from thinking about the future or the past and realise, right here in the present, you are happy with where you are.

It’s mothers’ day in the antipodes. I’m happy to celebrate and recognise all those mothers out there, including my own who at this moment is arriving back in the old country of England after a three-month sojourn here in Melbourne. It was lovely to see her and sadly I just missed spending Australian Mothers’ Day with her as she flew off last Friday. I say ‘Australian’ because Mothers’ Day in England is on a different day. It’s in March – she was here for that so we had a kindof celebration that day.

In fact, I try to make every day Mothers’ day for her as we only see each other every couple of years. I live in Melbourne, she in England so when we’re together, we avoid controversial issues that might cause us to quarrel and stick with playing cards, playing scrabble, visit neighbouring towns to wonder at the cost of the coffee or the badly made tea and the strange obsession with selling all things cheap and Chinese in every shop we go into. What has happened to local artisans? (that’s a whole other post!)
It does mean that we don’t always talk about what’s on our minds or what’s making us sad or even what’s really joyful. It’s a careful kind of company that we keep. It’s keeping the peace.
So today I would have liked to tell her that though she’s in a later stage of life, she should still get out there and enjoy as much of it as possible and not worry what anyone thinks, or says, or doesn’t say. I think of her easy access to the wonders of Europe and the beauty of England on early summer days and hope and wish she gets out into the countryside and enjoys a walk at Stonehenge, or on the Downs in Dunstable, or through the craziness of Oxford St in London where a 25 degree day equates to a heat wave and you can’t buy an ice-cold drink for love nor money.
She could walk through Hyde Park and wonder at the amazing cheekiness of the squirrels who virtually mug you for edible tidbits. Or she could just sit at a cafe overlooking the pebbly beach at Brighton, with a cup of tea in hand and wonder at the way things change but still stay the same.
She could visit my aunt and uncle (her brother and sister-in-law) in Dublin where she’s from and have a laugh and a joke over an always filled up cup of strong as tar Irish tea. She could take a walk on the Ha’penny bridge in Dublin that crosses the Liffey and think about where’s she’s from and how far she’s come and how well she’s done to bring up three crazy but happy daughters who are living equally amazing and happy lives, for all their complaining.

As a non-mother on Mothers’ Day I sit a little wistfully and wonder at what all those women would have done with their lives if they hadn’t had children. I likewise wonder what else they could be doing with their lives now they HAVE had children. My mother gave us a great start to life and continues to help us grow and prosper. I wish i could encourage her that her life still goes on and that having children was just one of the amazing things she was and is able to do. Thanks Mum for all you’ve done for me and my sisters. Now. Go out and get something else for yourself. So many beautiful places and adventures are still waiting for you. Happy Mothers’ Day.

Do you ever have those moments when, while you believe you can generally deal with all the things you have on your plate, a little help is always welcomed. I’d been saying this to myself just this morning and just to be clear (because its best to be clear about what you’re asking for) I’d said to the universe that I’d welcome some friendly help to come along and give a bit of reassurance.
Of course you never know what form this will take so when I was sitting in my office this morning and glanced out at the trees and beautiful blue sky, I should not have been surprised when an ex-colleague from more than 4 years ago suddenly appeared in front of my ground floor window!
She was visiting with her husband and baby the zoo where I work and decided to look me up.
How lovely to see them all. We chatted about life and how it was all going and as she was leaving to take her daughter to see the elephants, she said gently that the work I’d done in my previous role was acknowledged and appreciated, even now.

I was really touched. As they left, I remembered my request to the universe this morning and, not for the first time, thought about how help and reassurance can come in the simplest of ways. Perhaps all I needed was a confidence boost and I received it in the most lovely, random and gentle way.

At my recent “Creating the Working Life you Love” workshops in Melbourne, we discussed the enormous growth of the not-for-profit or community sector in Australia and the commensurate need for skilled employees. Add to this the growing reporting requirements by stakeholders and everything is headed towards two things (at least!): A review of NFP salaries to attract skilled workers and the need for updated technology systems to enable improved communication to donors, supporters and the community about the progress our organisations are making.
It made us all comment on the increasing professionalisation of the sector and while this was in many ways a good thing it also represented the passing of the age of what I termed the ‘socks and sandal brigade’, those passionate individuals who were all about the cause, all about the passion, all about making a difference, whatever their skills.
While skills and talent are going to add hugely to the value and outcomes the sector can deliver, we don’t want to lose our passion.. after all, that’s what makes life worth living.
Yours passionately….