I got an email from one of my dad’s colleagues today.

He told me they’ve planned a lecture series in his honor for later this year.

They’re also planning on creating a website where all his publications can be available.

I’ve probably never explained what he did, but my dad worked in the field of international trade and economic policy negotiation.

So what that means is that he worked with governments and/or international organizations like the UN and the WTO etc. to negotiate and draft trade agreements or economic policy between countries or regions of specific parts of the world.

He travelled a LOT for his job. He also met a lot of really fascinating people. But I knew very little about what he really did and to date have never read any of his publications. I know he contributed a lot to the Caribbean region in terms of policy but the truth is, his work was something distant to me that I wasn’t interested in. He resented the fact that we didn’t take an interest but we also never saw him because of it so we wanted work as far as possible when he was home.

I hope that with access to his publications I will gain a greater appreciation for his life’s work. I know he is spoken of very highly among his colleagues and he was considered to have made great contributions in his field. I think it’s time to get to know the professional side of my father. I resented it all my life but it’s time to put that behind me.