Day 22

Today was a day that I was looking forward to getting over. It was such a busy day at church and it just happened that it was filled with things I had to do. Normally, I could rely on Dh quite a bit but he just wasn't ready to go today - standing and lying down are fine but he is still finding sitting a bit uncomfortable and especially given the 20 minute drive in each direction, he just felt it would be too much.

I am the fellowship coordinator at our church. It's a big job. We have a fellowship committee and we are responsible for planning and doing the work for potlucks, baby welcomes, wedding gifts, etc. It's not a huge job but there is a considerable amount of people coordinating that I am finding to be really challenging. Today we had a potluck and the cookie exchange AND the nursery kids were singing a song in the service and I have kind of been coordinating the nursery programme.

The potluck being busy was partly my fault. We used to go to a small church when we lived in the city. It was WONDERFUL. It was small but the members were all really committed. The "many hands make light work" principle really applied and when someone said they were going to do something, it got done. There was always WAY too much food at a potluck, everyone did set-up and clean-up and the kitchen was a crowded place. It had its problems as any church does but finding workers wasn't one of them. When I plan events for our new church, I forget that the culture isn't the same. People aren't as quick to help and shockingly, we have problems sometimes without having enough food (as happened today). There are those of us who hang back to make sure there is enough food before we eat but there are others who don't bring and then eat their fill. It's frustrating. What I am finding the most frustrating, though, is finding people who will volunteer to help. When I plan something that would be easy-peasy in our old church, it's challenging in our new one. Today was no exception.

The cookie exchange was easy. Each person had to bring 10 bags with 6 cookies in each pack. I put plastic bins out on a table with each person's name on the bin and people had to put their cookies in the bin and then, after the bins were all filled, they each needed to take one pack from each person's bin. There was a great selection of treats and everyone went out of their way to package them nicely. I have got to stop nibbling on the peppermint bark that was part of the exchange.

Another nice part of the day was that our bracelets were ready. Our church does something every December called T and T. It's based on the parable of the talents and the church gives people $10 and they are responsible to try and make money using the money. This year, one woman decided to try her hand at making Jesus charm bracelets. Each bead represents a part of Jesus' life and resurrection. I bought one for Pk and one for me and they turned out really nicely. Pk was thrilled and I think the woman was really excited to make one for Pk. She kept wanting her to show it to people but Pk obviously didn't mind because part way through the carol sing, Pk point to the woman and said, "I really like that girl!" That brought a big smile.

The rest of the day was a blur. When the nursery kids did their song, Pk was the only, and I mean the only, kid who did the actions. At the end, the minister asked everyone to clap for me and the other mother leading, since we were the only ones dancing. I got the table set up and the cookie exchange done, the CD ready for the performance, had to find someone to do the sound system for Dh since he forgot he was on today and I had to get the carol sing organized for the potluck. That was really dragging me down... I could organize but I dread getting up and leading something like that and the woman who was going to lead it had to leave. We couldn't find anyone to play the music for us so we had to go online and download karaoke music to sing with. Thankfully, our minister stepped in and he led it for me. I don't know what I would have done otherwise. I was a bit disappointed in people, though. We had enough for set up but people were so thick. We didn't have enough tables and the woman running the kitchen went over to mention to the minister that we needed another table. He started setting up and nobody went over to help (something that Dh would have done in a heartbeat). Afterwards, when it was time to clean up, again, he announced that we needed help with the tables and nobody jumped up to help. I went around, baby in my arms, making a show of dealing with chairs, hoping to guilt the people talking into to doing something but only a very few pitched in.

The company was good, the singing was nice and, as always, the food was good but at the end, I was definitely ready to go get an ice cap at Tim Horton's and then come home and put my feet up!