Prior to our trip, my dad was one of the most popular people at Independence Village (their new home since he was released from the hospital last fall after being diagnosed with lung cancer.) You would never have known anything was wrong with him. He and my mother attended every function and were seen constantly at in the game room playing pool. On Sunday nights he would drive to our home - only 10 minutes away, for dinner and an evening of billiards in our new game room.

For the last month, he has been battling this terrible disease and it’s taken a toll on him. He has been so ill, that I had to call an ambulance to take him back to Beaumont Hospital. After being released, his physician suggested calling Hospice. He said Dale was his “star patient.” At 86, he had never expected him to last eight months with lung cancer.

For the last 8 months, Dale has been working with a holistic physician and I believe that is why he has been doing so well. The Hospice nurses have been wonderful. I never really understood how wonderful Hospice was.

I can only stress how important it is to have a plan and to be prepared...the sooner you can have the “discovery conversation” with your parents the better. Imagine how difficult it would at this point to be starting the planning process under so much stress.

Very often I will hear someone say, “Oh, my parents are all set...they have an advisor and I'm sure everything is all taken care of.” After 20 years as a financial advisor, I have seen what actually is going on behind the scenes and many times, the planning has not been done properly which could mean disaster for both the parents and the children. Imagine getting ready to retire to Costa Rica or up north to your new log cabin in Garland...only to discover that either the plan had holes or worse yet... YOU were the plan and you are the Designated Daughter.

My parents and I had “the conversation” fifteen years ago, we met with an eldercare attorney, drafted all the appropriate documents and funded the trusts. Now everything is being managed by my financial planning partner in one place, my step father’s son and I know where everything is and tomorrow I am filing a claim on both of my parent’s long term care insurance policies. Once approved, they should be receiving around $50,000 annually tax free from the insurance company. Thank goodness they purchased these from our planning firm years ago when my mother was only 58 and he was 75...now at her age 72 and his 87, they could never have qualified for the coverage.

If you are too looking for a way to help your parents through this process and are in immediate need of assistance, please feel free to contact me...I have a developed a terrific network of resources and advisors over the years...in fact, you will be meeting many of them later this year when we launch our new program on this topic! I am keeping my fingers crossed for my step father...the Hospice nurse said that he may fool us all and “graduate” from the program. Wouldn’t that be wonderful!

~ Katana

Katana is an expert in helping women prepare for taking care of their aging parents. She has been a featured speaker with the Area Agency on Aging as well as the Federal Reserve Board’s Money $mart Week. She will soon be launching a new program called, “The Designated DaughterTM— Living in the Sandwich Generation.” For more information, you can visit her website at www. Smartwomenscoaching.com

Our new site will be launched in two phases. In phase one, we will offer coaching, speaking and our new Smart Women’s Blog where we will be posting all our live events, workshops and retreats. In phase two, we will be adding our new Smart Women’s Café, a community where you will have access to live coaching calls by one of our Smart Women’s Coaches; Smart Women’s Interviews with some of the countries most notable women; access to the Smart Women’s Forum, a place where women around the world can share, inspire and support each other; and access to our members only special tools and resources. It will all be available later this year!

By the way...Cynthia is also a very talented publicist. If you watched CBS Sunday Morning News this week, you will see that the last segment was about our friend, Pierette Simpson, author of “Alive on the Andrea Doria – the Greatest Sea Rescue in History.” Tuesday, July 25th is the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Andrea Doria. Well Cynthia was the one who set that spot up with CBS. Be sure to visit Amazon or Barnes and Nobles to pick up your copy of this just released book! Cynthia is also available for publicity contract work...I must say she is excellent!

It's hard to decide which are lovelier, the sunrises or the sunsets. This morning was particularly beautiful; soft pinks against the delicate blue sky and an air crisp and clean after a gentle rain shower during the night. I stood outside for a while and breathed in the pristine air while listening to the sounds of the village waking up.

It's busy here at sunrise. The predawn hours are the noisiest of the day. Donkeys bray, cocks crow and dogs bark as people hustle about building the early morning fires to cook the day's papa. It is prepared outside over wood and dung fires in large, black, three legged cast iron cauldrons. By dawn today, Tjeeka, this family's only son, had already hitched up the two family oxen to go to a distant field to plough and plant maize and sorghum. By first light everybody is up and at it. M'e Matjeeka, after her papa is underway, sweeps all the dirt and grass in the courtyard. At first, I thought this was really strange but the reality is that since all the animals here are pretty much "free range" she is sweeping up dung of various kinds. This she meticulously adds to her gardens or, in the case of some of the cow dung, saves for either burning or plastering walls and floors.

Let me try to describe the family compound in which I live. It is located on a wide ledge almost exactly half way up a small mountain. Many of the mountains here are quite distinctive. They look like almost prefect cones -- this one is like that. It is part of the ancient Clarens sandstone deposits. We're surrounded by much larger mountains, the Drakensberge or Maluti range and we overlook the beautiful Hlotse valley. The ledge upon which this homestead sits is perhaps 40 feet deep and 100 feet long. The buildings form a U shape around a central courtyard which overlooks the valley below. Just below this ledge is another upon which are built the round stone kraals for the donkeys and oxen. Below that is a third ledge that acts as a village "road". It leads in one direction through a forest to the Cultural Village site and in the other into the main village area, to one of the schools where I teach and to the chief's place. There are four buildings in this compound, a thatch-roofed cooking hut, my rondavel, and two square cement block -- metal roofed buildings in which the family lives. We all have million dollar views.

I keep my door open almost all the time. I have an additional metal burglar bar door (a PC requirement) that keeps the larger animals out and allows me to watch the activities in the courtyard while enjoying the view. We have five dogs, a mother and four puppies. Two of the puppies are hers. The other two just arrived last week. Their mother died. They can't be more than 5 weeks old and still want to nurse. Our mother dog won't let them near her so I am feeding them powered milk. They seem to think I am their mother now and want to be in my hut --? a real no- no in the Basotho culture. Dogs simply don't go inside houses. I've put up a barrier so they can't get in but they stay exactly outside my door snuggled together on a little blanket waiting for their next meal. And truthfully, the tiniest runt is sleeping in my lap as I type this. Let's just call it "cultural exchange".

We also have a rooster, several hens and innumerable chicks all of which roam freely around the courtyard as well as a black baby pig who also looks longingly through the bars into my hut. The horse, oxen and donkeys go out to either work or graze every day but we have one baby donkey that stays home "mowing" the grassy areas of the courtyard or sleeping on one of the warm sandy patches. It's all quite pastoral and peaceful.

The family vegetable garden is on a slope to the right of the compound just outside my east-facing window. The Basotho are incredible gardeners. There is not one square foot of tillable ground wasted. Although the pickings are a bit slim at the moment, a wonderful assortment of summer vegetables is sprouting in neat little rows. This garden receives all our "grey" water which is carefully applied to each plant by hand.

I love being here at the homestead but find myself heading into the capital, Maseru, almost every week to deal with project issues. It's a long haul to get there. Depending on how lucky I am catching kolois the journey can take from six to 12 hours. Last week it took me 11 ½ hours to make the 125 km journey. By the time I reached the T. house I was frazzled. Oh, have I explained the T. house yet?

The T or transit house is a big, old rambling place just across from the American Embassy that belongs to the Peace Corps and is used by PCV's who need to overnight in the city. It is surrounded by razor wire topped security fences, has 24/7 security guards and is a safe haven in a very dangerous city. It has a large communal kitchen, baths, hot water, six big bedrooms with bunk beds in them, a library full of wonderful books and videos, a TV with video player and more espirit de corps than you can shake a stick at. It's a bit ramshackle and run down but it is home away from home to all of us here.

When I arrived there last Monday there were already several of my colleagues sitting around the kitchen chatting. I was in such a miserable mood. My trip in had been long, harrowing and I'd missed an important late afternoon meeting. At my last taxi change, I'd picked up two beers and a box of fried chicken. I headed straight into one of the wonderful indoor bathrooms, poured a deep hot bath and soaked eating chicken and drinking beer and coming to the conclusion that "It just doesn't get much better than this." Boy, have my standards changed!

What else can I tell you? Things are going quite well here. Everybody in the village is still so amazed about the "American friends of Menkhoaneng" fund. Sick people are getting to the hospital; this week I'll purchase the school books and we've started a Youth Group whose first project will be to plant some apple trees and herb gardens. All these things are thanks to you and your generosity.

That's it for now from the warm heart of Africa to you.

Love,
Peggi

Success doesn't always come easily, but once it does, then what? Like the Peggy Lee tune, you may be asking yourself, "Is That All There Is?" Learn when it's time to reinvent yourself or your company. Are you passionate about your life and your business? If you had a magic wand, what would you change in your life? Are you looking for more time, more money, better health or perhaps more fun? If you are, be sure to join me as I share the secrets I've discovered that will help you define and live the life of your dreams today. You will discover:

• The four keys to creating your ideal life
• A powerful new tool called "Your Perfect Life Focus"
• How to attract abundance and success into your life effortlessly

Join the excitement and "revenue generating" networking that will take place at the eWomenNetwork "Accelerated Networking" Luncheon .

Date: Thursday, August 10, 2006
Time: 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
(Doors open and informal networking begins at 11:00 AM)
Location:
Birmingham Community House
380 S. Bates St.
Birmingham, MI 48009
248.644.5832
Cost: $48.00 Cost for eWomenNetwork members is $35.00
Beginning August 7, 2006 all registrations are $55.00 if still available.

Register by phone by calling 810.423.2678

If this interests you...please feel free to check out the link below. You can watch her movie, "The Secret" on your computer, or purchase the DVD. I decided to purchase it, so I could watch it over and over and share it with my friends too. Take a peek and let me know what you think...who knows...it just could just change your life.