Yesterday was a beautiful day in New Orleans. It was mostly sunny and in the 70s outside. Too bad I did not step outside the hotel until after dark, and then it was just to go across the street to eat dinner. Guess what I had?
The reason I stayed in the hotel all day is that the fun trip was over, and it was time for our annual Board meeting. In the morning, trip attendees joined us to give us input on how the trip went and suggest places to go next. It was great to hear how much fun people had and how smoothly everything went. It was a HARD slog planning this trip, but in the end, the trip planners (with a lot of help by the Board President) got it done.
I’m very glad I am not a professional trip planner, and tip my hat to my friends who are!
Meetings and More Meetings
For an organization to work, it has to have planning, and we try to have an in-person Board meeting yearly, in addition to our monthly phone calls. It’s good to be able to see each other and help each other directly.
I was happy that the thing I do, the online magazine, was praised and I got lots of ideas for it during the trip. We selected Portland, Chicago, and Austin as potential next trips, but I am certain Austin won’t be chosen (whew).
Our lunch plan was hilarious, as it changed back and forth from Plan A to Plan B to Plan C and back to Plan A’. But we did eventually eat. And that was the most fun, at least to me.
Me and Rooms Full of Tension
The New and Improved Suna is not really interested in being in a room full of tension unless the tension is addressed and worked through. I believe that hard things need to be acknowledged and dealt with.
Thus, I was annoyed that some tension arose, and instead of working to solve the issue (and there WAS a solution that they could have mentioned), a few people had some communication issues and became really frustrated with each other, which felt sort of like knives in my heart (3 of Swords in tarot).
I knew I couldn’t leave, so I resorted to my old coping technique of playing a word game on my phone, so my entire attention was not on the issue, which I could play no part in addressing. The SECOND the meeting was over, I went to my hotel room and walked vigorously back and forth (getting in steps!) and worked out how I was going to address the issue, because I was NOT going to just say nothing. I am the New Suna, after all.
While a good solution WAS arrived at, and we do have new positions on the Board, there’s still work to be done. That’s okay; at least everyone is talking and on reasonable terms with each other.
The reason I do not work with La Leche League itself anymore is that all the infighting at the highest levels drained my soul, and people treating fellow volunteers disrespectfully was really hurtful to me. My hope for this Friends of LLL organization is that we are wiser and will not let that happen to us.
I am very fond of our group and its leadership. I look forward to working with new people too. Board work is not easy. But it feels good to see what can be accomplished.
On that note, my friend Kathy and I are going to finally get to see the Pharmacy Museum, then hope to heck we can get home, since an Arctic front has attacked our homes (Austin and San Antonio) and is blasting through New Orleans!
I look forward to seeing my spouse, my roommate, my dogs, my family, and my horses, in no particular order.
