About a week ago I received an e-mail from a colleuge asking me about running for the board of a particular industry association. Less than 24 hours later, I recieved a letter from the incoming president on the same topic. Both of these amazing woman wanted me to consider being a candidate for the board.
I’m far from the only person on this earth who has trouble saying No. And the good Lord knows all I need is a little flattery about how “indespensible” I am and I’m a little like melted butta’. Basically, I’m a sucker for some good flattery.
So you can imagine when I recieved this correspondance (which was then followed up that afternoon with some training for this organization to ‘re-energize us) I was thrown. Not a week before I sat with my manager discussing my goals for 2010. One of my goals included being LESS involved.
Yep, you heard it hear first folks.
Two bloggers I read have used a certain turn of phrase that seems particularly appropriate–my ’seaon of life’ has changed. (yes I know it sounds like a menopause commercial) It’s no secret that the boy and I have talked about starting a family sometime in the next two years (the same length as a board term) and to be honest, I want to focus more on ‘non-work’ things…you know, it’s normally called a personal life? Yea, I had to look it up too.
I won’t lie, they almost had me. I was so flattered by the compliments I was given, by the confidence they have in me and the optimisim I could bring to the table. Heck, even the fact that they were “looking forward to the opporutnity to work with me and get to know me better”. Seriously, that’s some good stuff. And I mulled it over. Long and hard.
Maybe, I thought, I could carry on. How hard would it be right?
When I mentioned it to the boy and said we needed to discuss it, he asked me what there was to discuss. “Oh” I said, “so you think I should go for it??!”
His reply:
“What part of that statement makes you think I think this is a good idea?”
In fairness, when it’s written out it sounds like he’s running some sort of dictatorship. That couldn’t be further from the case actually. This is a man that hears all the backend jumbled jarrgon of all of my little world’s ins and outs. He knows me, perhaps better than I know myself (much to my dismay) he also knows when I need to slow down. He’s like my own personal barameter. And so when the discussion of our family and where our lives are heading originally came up, I had to suck it up and hear what he had to say. No longer am I a single gal who can come home after working a 12 hour day and tune out, with only myself and a cat to be responsible for. Never would I have thought that that would be a struggle for me to embrace, and yet here it is almost a year and a half to the day later and I still struggle with it. Apparently, I can be a bit selfish. And to be perfectly honest, this is a new season for me and there is a lot going on. Perhaps it was time to shift it down.
And so yesterday I responded with a thank you, but no thank you. I expressed my sincere appreciation but declined the offer. It was harder than I would have thought, I cannot lie. A year and a half in and I have to remind myself still that it’s not just me. Sad maybe, but true. But the benefit to all of this is a life shared, which is much better than a life as the cat lady 
1 comment on “Just Say No”
You would be a good member of that particular Board. And when you are ready to do it, you will..maybe. I, myself, am ending my 2 year commitment and NOT reapplying….my kiddo needs my focus now.
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