Never volunteering again
I am in way, way over my head. I don’t know what to do. I am so irritated with myself for thinking I am super woman and can do everything. I am so irritated with other people who don’t answer e-mails and aren’t willing to answer questions.
Did I mention the science program that I was hoping our school would offer? I think I did. It is an afterschool program ran by a non-profit organization. They can only operate if they have a PTA coordinator. Everyone said it was oh-so-easy. The coordinator just passes out the fliers, tallies up the registration and sends out a few e-mails.
Ha.
Hahahahahahahaha.
Our school decided we could do it and I am the coordinator.
I spent over an hour at the school making copies yesterday while Elsa was strapped into her stroller. Thankfully she was pretty content as long as I kept feeding her crackers. I do not want to feed her crackers for an hour.
Now the questions are rolling in and I have no freakin’ clue how to answer them. How does the activity bus work? I don’t know. Who will make sure the kindergartners walk from the door of their home room to the door of the science room? I don’t know. A grown-up or patrol, I would assume? Who is eligible for a scholarship? I don’t know. Oh! Now I know! I can give out three scholarships at my discretion. Awesome, but also kind of uncomfortable to have that kind of power.
How do I get answers to these questions? I need to talk to the PTA president. She does not answer e-mail. It is incredibly, incredibly annoying to send these e-mails out to the void with questions that need a timely response and get nothing.
So the principal said something about the vice-principal knowing about the activity bus. I thought “a-ha! I’ll ask her! I bet she knows stuff.” I got a very rude e-mail back saying that she does not have the answers to any of my questions and I need to talk to the PTA president.
I wanted to slap the biatch. There is no need for rudeness. This is a program that will greatly benefit the students at her school. It is reasonable to assume someone at the school could tell me something.
So now I guess I will get on the phone and call the president. She is nice to talk to, but I always feel like such a bother when I call someone. What if they are in middle of something else? Ugh.
I am never volunteering for anything again.
We all believe that, right?
ETA: All that irritation and I just had a great phone conversation with the PTA president. Maybe phone calls aren’t so bad.
Laurie said,
August 31, 2012 @ 8:43 am
Oh Carrie — this brings back so many memories! My kids are 23 and 20 — and I was that PTA President for way too many years (I think it was 6 — I was VP and then Pres., and of course nobody would relieve me). I so remember being inundated with emails at the beginning of every year (although I answered them — even with a “I’ll get back to you with a real answer as soon as I can”). In terms of volunteering, if you suggest something, you will find yourself in charge. There are always many helpers but few leaders. You have been singled out because of your amazing capability. I LOVED volunteers like you and was always so grateful because honestly — there were always alot of well-meaning, kind, parents with absolutely no common sense/ability/intelligence. You’ve worked in public school — you know how it all works. Every one of the good/capable people are stretched beyond belief and unfortunately that includes the volunteers. You are too kind, too capable and too good at what you do. You have been targeted! 🙂
Antropologa said,
August 31, 2012 @ 11:30 am
Did she say why emailing doesn’t work?
You really do volunteer a lot. It seems like you’re good at it and that’s good for your kids. But maybe set a goal for scaling back sometime so you get some time to yourself?