I come from a long line of volunteers.
My mom was the room mother my entire academic career.
(To this day she can't believe college freshmen don't need room mothers!)
She was the PTA president for years.
(Her photo is in my high school yearbook more than mine!)
My father coached little league baseball and football for over 20 years.
My mother never met a committee she didn't chair.
So, it's not in my blood to be anything different.
I volunteer.
I've been my youngest son's room mother his entire academic career.
I've never been involved in an organization I haven't ended up a board member of.
It's just who I am.
It's a family philosophy I believe in:
"You take your turn, you give back to the community."
But lately, I feel a shift in my thinking.
Things have happened where instead of feeling good about volunteering I'm starting to feel resentful.
Taken advantage of.
Maybe it's because my life is fuller now and I don't have as much free time as I used to.
Maybe now I'm just more protective of my spare time.
All I know is that I don't like feeling this way and I don't know what to do.
What I do know is that quitting is not in my blood.