heidi's blog

My local RWA Chapter officially disbanded today. I'd like to say I'm sorry to see it happen, but I so am not. CARA is nearly 10yrs old, & in all that time, I kept it running pretty much singlehandedly. Yes, occasionally other members stepped up & offered to hold office, but many times it was in name only. I was still responsible for the bulk of the work.

And, you know, as willing as I was to do it for the first 9 1/2yrs, after a while it gets old. I'm tired of it. I no longer want to be solely responsible for putting a newsletter together every month, sending out meeting reminders, filing papers, keeping records, writing articles, coming up with meeting topics, & making sure those meetings run smoothly. I loved the people & the support & the writing conversations we had over lunch, but I think I'm ready to experience those things on a simpler level--just getting together with friends for a meal & drinks & chit-chat--without the business end of keeping a Chapter going making life that much more draining.

This will certainly free up my weekends from now on & give me more time to write, or make it easier for me to attend other functions I often had to miss because of meetings. I love RWA & think RWA Chapters & meetings are great...please, don't anyone get me wrong on that...but I think I'm going to stick to being a guest from now on, instead of president, newsletter editor, secretary, & treasurer--not to mention chief cook & bottle washer, as my dad would say--all rolled into one. :-P

Yes, it's the end of an era in many ways, the end of something I'd gotten used to over time. But it's also a beginning, hopefully of bigger & better things. Like they say, When God closes a door, He opens a window. Feel the breeze. Smell the fresh air. Picture me as what's-her-name in the movie Titanic, standing at the bow of the ship with her arms out & her head tilted back. (Not when she was contemplating suicide, btw...the other time, when she was feeling happy & carefree.) That's pretty much how I feel.