Convention Commitment

Last night I got home from my last PTA state leadership convention.  I've been going for years and years.  For the past few, I have worked in the registration area helping the attendees with their convention packet material or as the "happy hostess" (read: welcome wagon).  I've thoroughly enjoyed seeing moms and dads arrive who not only love their kids, but are concerned for their children's classmates, school friends, and children all around the state enough to get involved.  Those kind of parents are the ones who attend the convention.

Some of these folks come from far away--St. George, Vernal, Cache County, Blanding, Utah.  That is a real commitment for them to come.  The convention registration fee is about $50 per person to start with, so they really come to attend with a full level of commitment.  The same can't be said of the locals.  I saw several registration packets go untouched.  No one came to get them, so that person did not attend.   The majority of those were from right here along thew Wasatch Front.  They didn't need to come from hundreds of miles away.  They were just a 15-20 minutes freeway ride away.  But they didn't show up.

I chatted with one volunteer mom from Richfield.  She is a local officer in her child's school.  They don't have a council where she lives--it is too rural and sparsely populated to make that work.  And more sadly, she doesn't have a Regional director at the moment either, though their area is programmed for one.  She had no one to turn to for advice, guidance or training except the state ladies.  Her comments made me realize even more that our situation here in my little town is pretty ideal.

Even with that said, I am looking forward to my final year of PTA leadership.  Both the kids will be at the high school int he fall for one year.  I've committed to serving as the PTA president there and then I am done.  After that, I'll go tuck myself into the Viking Store and work as much as they need help--happy to help, but in to be in charge.

And not to attend another convention.  Ever.

Commitment

Commitment is one of those things.  You know, those things that you see either one way or the other.  There isn't a lot of middle ground in commitment.  Like being pregnant.  You either are, or you're not.

What you choose to commit to says lot about you as a person.  Are you committed to your spouse?  Your family?  Your faith?  Your job?  Your causes?  Your favorite team?  Really?!  Fully committed?!

If you are wishy-washy then you are not committed.  If you are not willing to put in the time to do the job right, then you are not committed.  If you look for ways to get out of the responsibilities associated with your commitment, there is a problem with your commitment level.  If you spend more time looking for the loop hole than just putting your shoulder to the wheel, then the commitment isn't there.

Why do people live like this?  Living an incongruent life is much more difficult, I would think.  If I have committed to something, I work hard to complete my end of the given deal. 

I'm committed to my family--that doesn't make it easy to follow through for this family unit I have been given, but it is worth it.  And I love my family even more as we struggle through life, working in out together.

I'm committed to my faith--and I see a lot of blessings come from living what I believe,all the time, in all the places I find myself, and in all the situations I get into.  God blesses me as I do what I know is right.  It is just that easy.

I'm committed to my work--and that is saying something because "volunteer work" just doesn't pay what the world deems as valuable.  But I know the value in my time as I serve local schools, as I support local PTA leaders, as I work with kids around town.  The world around me is a little better when I am done with it, simply because I feel like I have done a little extra.

Finding fulfillment is more than having someone tell you that what you do is making a difference.  Fulfillment must come when the level of my commitment is answered by the level of my personal value--even when no one else see it that way.

"Flaky" is More Than a Pastry's Description

I read a very curious article this week on Commitment. I was fascinated about it because I thought I was the only one that was having these kind of thoughts. [Well, my moms commiserated with me, but she is quite far away and we don't commiserate over lunch, just over the phone.] It is me, or is everyone turning a bit more FLAKY?

What is with people that they can just decide to "be done" with something they have committed to do when it suddenly involves a little more effort or work?! Is there no sense of responsibility or purpose in finishing a task?!

Yes, these can be considered rhetorical questions. Just answer them to yourselves, unless you want to leave a comment with your side of this conversation.

Years ago, about this same time of year, people might have blamed a little illness called "Senioritis". But none of the suspects of late are anywhere near the HS Senior bracket.

In this article I read, author Sarah Ingram Westerberg writes " In an increasing flaky world, it seems that the word commitment has been progressively modified such that, in many contexts, it no longer resembles what it used to mean. More and more I hear people seeking to justify breaking a commitment. They say ' I have to so what is right for me' or 'I am just too tired' or, especially, 'I am just too busy.' We hear people talk of the casual, partial, or half-hearted commitment. But anything less than complete, absolute, or total commitment is as bad as no commitment at all."

Sound familiar? Yeah, that is what I thought too.

I most certainly appreciate all of you, my friends, who are such good examples of keeping commitments. A lot of your commitments involve my own, so we are in this together. Thanks for pulling your weight here. Too bad we aren't the majority.

My Level is FULL

This weekend is a jumping off point for a stretch about three months long of intense responsibilities for me, all regarding my calling in the Stake Young Women's presidency. It is a challenging calling, but it comes with great rewards.

The camping trip was the kick off, then last night our stake hosted the Brand New Year event--that is happening worldwide from about 2 weeks ago through the end of next week--and we had food assignments for that. This morning I have a meeting for our Stake YW Winter Camp. The Bishops in each ward will host a fireside to conclude the "BNY" event tonight. Then Tuesday begins a series of six "pre-conference" visits with each of our wards in the stake, prior to their ward conferences, which begin in two weeks, and we also attend each of those and teach during that meeting. In between all that, YW basketball begins on Saturday and we are also attending all 6 New Beginnings activities in the next four or five weeks. Mix in a few Trek committee meetings on Sunday mornings at 7 AM and regular presidency meetings and you have a good idea of what I am facing.

I don't tell you this because I am complaining. Frankly, I know the Lord called me to this, again, and I don't doubt this is where I am suppose to serve in the church at this time. But there is much to do and much to keep track of for the next few weeks.

I guess I can call it job security, right? At least I can declare my level of commitment as FULL.