With the death of the visionary businessman Steve Jobs, the issue of succession planning has undoubtedly been on the minds of corporate leaders around the world. I didn’t realize it until yesterday, but apparently it is a topic up for discussion in our household as well.
Both Puppy and Kitten were home sick with croup. Puppy was working on a sewing project, and I’d pulled out a kit I keep that contains a variety of miscellaneous items such as pins, old jewelry, and buttons. Having never seen the kit before, the girls were delighted. They set aside their projects and immediately began sorting through the kit, digging for treasures.
Before long, Puppy held up a small fabric pouch containing a small gold chain and pendant. “When Mommy dies,” she shrieked, “I get this!”
Not one to be left in the dust, Kitten jumped on the bandwagon and grabbed a small pack of amethyst stones. “Yeah, and when she dies, this one is mine!”
With that, the floodgates were opened and both girls raced to stake claims on their treasures.
I sat watching in bemused silence, remembering full well all the times I’d made similar comments to my mother as a child.
Finally, Puppy and kitten grew tired of the game and fell silent.
“Girls,” I pointed out. “When Mommy and Daddy die, everything we have is going to be yours.”
“Yes,” Puppy piped up, “But with all this stuff, I think there is going to have to be some serious coin tossing to decide who gets what!”
Her comment wasn’t totally out of left field because when my grandmother passed away recently, she wrote something similiar into her will. As the mother of fourteen children, she must have known the issue of handling her estate would be complicated. Always one to think outside the box, Grandma directed that each child label each item in the house they wanted with a stick-it note. After the funeral, anyone with their name on an item with more than one name on it was directed to roll a dice for that item. Whoever had the highest roll “won” the item. This simple but creative solution removed much of the drama from what otherwise may have been a long, painful affair, and while I hope it will be many years before my children have to worry about such matters, I’m happy to know this issue has already been resolved in our household.
I wonder if Apple can say the same?
