Notes From A Woman On Her Way To Severe Burnout

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I decided to update my About Me page today, and wow, I had completely forgotten what I had written a year ago.

During the last school year, I wore a lot of hats: the PTA’s room parent coordinator; the room mom for Julian’s kindergarten class and Pippa’s third grade class; the book fair chair (best. job. ever.); an AYSO referee (not that terrible, despite the fluorescent yellow shirt); and the cookie czar for Pippa’s Brownie troop. I know, I know, this sounds crazy, but I thrive on this sort of crazy.

Oh look, I created an infographic to detail My Sort of Crazy:

This coming school year, I am dialing up the crazy. I will be our PTA’s VP of Volunteering; the book fair chair; and a leader for Pippa’s Girl Scout troop. No one has agreed to take on the job of room parent coordinator yet, so I’ll probably be doing that, too. And I maybe sort of told AYSO that I would be a coach. And I’m sure I’ll be a room mom again…

My husband is only mildly concerned.

My Former About Me Page, which i’m updating, so you can’t check the citation. but is anyone actually checking the citations on my blog? and if so, how do you have the time to do that shit?

Well, at least the infographic is still accurate.

Part of me wishes I could go back in time and warn 2023 Courtney – You are flying too close to the volunteering sun! You are going to burn to a crisp! Your dad is about to be diagnosed with cancer! And then he’s going to need emergency brain surgery and shit will really hit the fan! Have some mercy on yourself and dial back the crazy.

But mostly, I have a sense of humor and realize this was all part of my journey:

  • I had to “enjoy” being an AYSO ref and signup to be a soccer coach in order to realize I was letting the AYSO agenda hijack my life.
  • I had to be the PTA VP of Volunteering to realize I was draining my vital energy in ways I could not sustain.
  • I had to volunteer too damn much in order to remember my essentials, my need for a buffer, and my right to rest and relaxation.

Confession: I’m a little embarrassed by my old About Me page, but that’s all part of the journey. I have to keep on following my curiosity and making mistakes, big and small, in order to become a more and more authentic version of myself.