Oy Vey

 

I just received an email from my daughter’s classmate’s mom.  It’s our turn to donate a quilt for the Ladies Sodality Quilt Bingo being held in March.

There are 5 families in our group who rotate the responsibility of coming up with a quilt to donate.  The rest of us just write a check to them for $35.  I love ‘just writing a check’.  I loathe trying to find a quilt – a handmade, reasonably priced, decent looking quilt.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that it’s not my turn, but I have a feeling it’s my turn.

Double oy vey.

I’ve come to the point in my life when I feel like I’ve put my time in, and now it’s time to be selfish.  (Abby, close your ears.  Terri – you too! I don’t want to be swaying you over to the dark side.)

I did the stay-at-home mom stuff for 4 kids.  I was someone’s room mother every year while the kids were in school.  I attended a great many field trips to the Science Center, the Arch, the City Museum,  the Zoo, the Science Center, the Arch, the City Museum, the Zoo, the Science Center…. you get the idea.. four kids, remember!

I was a member of the PTA for many years before becoming president of it.  I organized the school’s Field Day program 4 years in a row.  I was the Boy Scout leader for 1.5 years (I quit early on that.  I felt like a babysitter for all these boys and their siblings. And the things I did for them were not appreciated in the least.)

I voluntarily taught religion classes for 6 years to third graders three mornings a week.

I manned many a concession stand.  I waitressed many a chicken dinner. I called many a bingo cards.

I did my part!

When do I get to quit?

Well, with a town of 600 people, nobody really gets to quit.  And if we do, hoo boy!, are we the talk of the town.

So we’ve succumbed to that.  We’re the talk of the town. And we don’t really care.

We know that we’re not going to be here much longer, so we’ve distanced ourselves from the town.  It’s one of the reasons I don’t mind my hour long commute into work.  It gets me away from this small town that has nothing better to do than keep holding fund raisers.

Most people here LIKE that stuff.  Me?  I like the stuff they aren’t doing. I like action!  Variety!  Culture!

But what I’m doing, is calling a bunch of grandmas, trying to find one that still quilts, and then asking her to sell me one.  Then I’m going to call everyone in my group and try to get them to send me their portion of it so I don’t get stuck with the bill.

Oy.   Vey.