A lot to say on a Monday.....

Last week was exhausting…but you never know what your limits are, until you push it. I put together 3 events that took place in the span of 8 days. The first was the reunion I had talked about….it took weeks of planning and phone calls and emails, texts and facebooking. But I did not do this single-handed…..there are always people who love to rise to the occasion and help out, and you need to let them. No man is an island, we’re all in this together.


Then there was the Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser. Again, I had help…….but I’ve been doing this sort of thing for years….many who want to help are there out of the goodness of their hearts…..they’re not really sure what they signed on for…..all you have to do is explain what you need them to do, and they’re off and running……

I originally thought I could coast through the rest of the week, after the fundraiser was over with…but then came the funeral luncheon at church…..which cannot be postponed until your calendar is less hectic….you have to make the time. Once again, volunteers abound. “We’re here, what do you want us to do.” You’ve got to have it all planned out in your head…so you can assign people different tasks….and the next thing you know, all the little details are taken care of, and you’ve got a well-oiled machine.

Since this luncheon was going to be so large (175 people) I called in a couple of professionals. I left messages with a few people I hadn’t worked with since last April, “Hi, It’s Gretchen, I need your help with something, please call me back.” Two of them happened to be off on Saturday, called me back and said, “Yes I’d love to help, what do you need.” There was no monetary reward in all this…but they stayed from start to finish, and were some of the last one’s to leave. I think this speaks volumes about their character.

So when the opportunity arises where you are given a chance to help out, even if it’s a little inconvenient, just do it. Don’t worry about “What’s in it for me?” Money only spends once, the reward you will reap is the good feeling you will have for knowing you did a good thing and you helped people out. And that feeling will last much longer then the cha-ching of a cash register.