Thank heaven.
I somehow was convinced to be the Assistant Treasurer for our local CG spouses' club. Sounds easy enough, right? There is no attendance requirement, so if Lu'au is having a bad day, I don't HAVE to be at meetings. They said I was in charge of taking the membership forms and entering them into a spreadsheet to be made into a directory. This could be done, they said, at my own pace with no real deadlines. Cool. Sounds like the perfect responsibility list for me! I'm happy to help, so I said yes. (Surely there are some retired Admirals' wives' dressed in white gloves and pearls, giggling in a corner because they have pulled off another con on an unsuspecting junior officer's wife.)
That whole little "entering membership forms" doesn't really mean *only* that. It means being places to ADVERTISE membership. Like the Coast Guard Day picnic. No problem. I can plan volunteers to be there, coordinate with the Picnic Chair to get us a table... as soon as I can find out who that person is. I can do that.
Oh yeah, the membership kick-off event is a Welcome Tea, usually held at the Commandant's house. And guess who plans that? The ASSISTANT treasurer! Uh... ok. So much for "at my own pace" and "with no real deadlines".
I like planning parties... but this one seemed a little "higher stakes" than most parties I plan. There were about 80 people there - from the Commandant himself (who, ironically enough, I didn't ever speak with) to other Admirals wives & husbands, to other lowly spouses like me.
I tried to plan the best I could and I think things went pretty well overall. I was in charge of announcing new members and I think I missed a few. And then I forgot to ask if there was anyone I missed. Ooops. So much for welcoming someone into the group.
Being the people-pleaser I am, I am really nervous that people weren't happy with the event. That I did something wrong. That I forgot something important. AND IT'S ALREADY DONE. And yet I'm worrying. Worrying that my major (yet still unknown to me) faux-pas will somehow affect my husband's career. Worrying that I shouldn't have agreed to help in the first place. Worrying that I was way in over my head...
So much for day-after regrets. Hopefully everyone had fun. I'll make it up to the new members and send them a letter or email or some sort of concession.
le sigh.
3 comments:
may I just say: you are my hero. And: conniving schemers!!!
You did way better than I could have ever done!!! I wouldn't know the first thing about how to even say hello to the people at your tea. And I'm horrible at planning parties for anyone over 3. I'm so impressed!
I am positive you did a fantastic job! And if anyone dares to say otherwise, well then, I would sweetly suggest that they should be the assistant treasurer next time.
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