A Bad Ass Woman

I’ve been very lucky to have amazing and inspiring women in my life. My mother, my grandmothers are all strong, independent, and adventure seeking women that boldly experience those unbeaten roads. Just add Yai Norma to that list. Yai, is grandma in Thai. No, I’m not Thai and neither is Norma….

Yai Norma is another woman that I aspire to be like. She is this week’s Monday Motivation. She is THE DEFINITION of a bad ass woman. I met Yai Norma two years ago in a conference in Costa Rica where we were focusing on social entrepreneurship. This woman, had a successful career spanning over three decades at multinational software company, HP. She retired in her 60s and then decided to join the Peace Coprs. Yes, ladies and gentleman, this woman at 65 decided to join the Peace Corps and spent 3 (not 2! She extended her stay) living in Dansai, Thailand—a village/district in the Loei Province of Northeast Thailand.

First of all, if that ain’t bad ass, then I don’t know what is. But Norma’s story doesn’t end there. Mother of two wonderful and inspiring children Todd and Nicole, and grandmother to many…including myself J (faux grandma for the record.) Norma went to Thailand not knowing any Thai or Thai culture but her goal was to promote community development. Clearly, that was something she excelled at—the community members wanted to learn English. Well, 10 years later, Norma, still armed with a mission and purpose every day decided to partner and start her own Speaking English in Dansai Program.

For the past two years, Norma has been my grandmother, my mentor, my boss, and my guru. She asked me to help her develop a Speaking English Program in Dansai and we spent the past two years doing just that.

Yai Norma is a survivor: Cancer survivor, WWII survivor, and my champion behind closed doors. She was the one that provided me the opportunities to travel to Dansai and meet the most amazing people in Thailand. She encouraged me to pursue my Masters in Public Administration and Policy and she just gives the best “grandmotherly” advice.

I will never forget, last year, in Thailand we were sitting talking about life and I just remember being in tears and the next day, I opened up my email and she had sent me an article on meditation and forgiving your imperfections.

She said to me, that giving is part of forgiveness and what we need to mindfully work on forgiving is ourselves, our mistakes and our past. She taught me that forgiveness was essentially a form of nourishment—to help us grow and to no longer feel alone or stuck for that matter. She told me that I would be successful in whatever I chose to do in my career—and I don’t take her words lightly. She taught me more than she’ll ever know and I cannot thank her enough. She is forever and will be “pi set” meaning special in Thai. Yai Norma, you are pi set and my Monday Motivation always. Thank you for helping me and challenging me to grow in different ways. I know you don’t want to see me get punched in the face…but…it’s going to happen!