Thursday, May 19, 2011

A Snails Life.....

Some one said to me recently that I could blog about ANYTHING I laughed and said nah I am sure there was something out there that I couldn't blog about....
I pretty much have been in HIGH SPEED GO GO GO Mode since hitting this post...the truth is even when my body didn't have the OOMPH to GO GO GO my mind was making up for it...I truly believe a mind is a horrible thing to waste....
So after doing high speed now for 10 months I just got back from a 5 day conference it was for a phenomenal group called AWAG Americans Working Around the Globe we had jam packed 5 classes a day, networking lunches, there were speakers and themed dinners...so sometimes we didn't eat until close to 9PM by the time we made it through the buffet lines, then back to our rooms to fall into bed to catch a few hours a sleep before we had to be up, fed and back into the classroom by 8:30AM to do it all over again...I learned alot there from the speakers, I learned about resiliency, bereavement, children's education as well as mine, FRG, spouses clubs, Volunteerism, leadership roles within the Army and Military communities, savings & investments, deployments, about services offered to military members, BOG, board meetings, how to save on meat...but one of the best things that I learned is that to prevent burn out in volunteers they need to feel appreciated, only say yes to things they feel passionate about, only put in as much time as they can, not to over commit, to use your talents, skills but know your weaknesses, keep your priorities in mind...yourself and your family...
You need to take care of yourself so you can take care of others....so breath, relax, enjoy a hobby, read a book, take nap, go for a walk...hence we get to why this is titled A Snails Life...
The girls found a snail about a month ago I figured this snail would be a goner with in a day or two however a month later and the snail is still kicking lol ok maybe slithering...which got me to thinking about the fast pace I have been going...I don't rush around I just sort of bounce from place to place...high speed doing this and that for this person or that person along the way some thing always comes up which I just add to my to do list...
So Snaily comes out of his shell, he is tiny, moves slowly but still manages to make it all the way to where ever it is that it is trying to get to...
it might take the snail awhile at the slower pace but he still manages to get there...so maybe going a little slower in life won't kill me or anyone else...maybe the snails success can be learned from...slow and steady still gets it done...
Snaily traveled all the way around the bucket rim to get to the drop of water the girls had fun cheering snaily on...go Snaily, you can do it, good job Snaily as I listen to my girls seriously cheering a snail on while it slithers it's way around the lid I remember sitting in class hearing the instructor saying that cheering, praising and acknowledging our volunteers keeps them happy and motivated....preventing burnout.....
So if my girls can cheer a snail on and it makes it to it's goal line......imagine what some praise can do for a volunteer, a friend, a family member or a new spouse..lol I know I always end up saying something about new spouses...it's my mantra say HELLO to your new neighbor or the new wife at the commissary you could really be the one person to make living where ever you live more welcoming...be a spark of inspiration, of friendliness and of volunteerism.....