I am a Volunteer

My name is Brenda.  I am a wife and a mother of 2, I work full time, I am a triathlete, and I volunteer.

You may look at my schedule and ask "Why volunteer?  Why not let someone else do it who isn't as busy as you."  That is the exact thing my Father-in-Law said just 2 years ago. 

At the time, my house had been on fire Thursday morning, taking with it 80% of my clothes, my place to sleep, all of my food, the things I relied on to get through my day that were in my house, as well as my dog.  Everything I could salvage to be washed in clothing (nothing spandex nor dry-clean), same for my family, I took with us to get by with as we stayed at my in-laws until we could be relocated to temporary housing.  (We needed my mother-in-laws washer and dryer, or we would have stayed in a hotel.)  The next night, I was a volunteer for my daughter's first Swim Meet.

Okay, so they fed me a really nice dinner.  I didn't know that when I signed up.  I didn't know that when I showed up either.  On a Friday evening, I sat at the desk to make sure the clocks reset for each race.  Not difficult.  But I'm not done.

The next morning, when my daughter actually swam, I brought homemade blueberry muffins for the Coaches/Officials' Breakfast Table. (I did mention I lost all of my food in the fire, right?)  I woke up at 3 am, had to run to a 24 hour grocery store for ingredients and used my Mother-in-law's only muffin tin (it made 8 at a time) to bake 24 muffins. This covered my entry to watch her race. (When my husband showed up with the last batch, it covered his entry as well.)  As the meet progressed, they needed timers.  I stepped up.  I got to see my daughter race from the pool deck, instead of from the hot stands.  But I also missed seeing her race too.  That's okay. I was busy cheering for the kid in my lane.

I covered several shifts volunteering for this first meet.  My Father-in-law told me I should let someone else do it, I have more important things to worry about.  A house fire is very important.  But so is taking care of my family.  My husband, his son, told him "She volunteers because it opens up opportunities for her daughter."  He didn't like it.

I am a mother of 2.  I will also volunteer for my son's activities.  I will again coach soccer, tee ball, what ever he needs me for so he and his teammates can play.

I work full time.  After the birth of my son and our first house fire almost 5 years ago now, I had to go back to work.  I don't have free time to do whatever I want, so I prioritize.

I am a triathlete.   I don't get to train as much as I would like to, but I do train.  And I race.  I have signed my husband up to volunteer.  He enjoys the free tee shirt and chance to see me on the course.  My Daughter also races triathlons, and I volunteer for her races as well.  Racing you see how much depends on volunteers.  From the person holding out a cup of water to the lone person sitting in a chair pointing to keep you on course and cheering for me.  Volunteers are needed.  I thank them.

And I am a volunteer.  I step up because others don't.   Trust me, I never played soccer before, but I coached my daughters 3 year olds' team at the Y.  I learned.  And I will continue to step up when ever I see an opportunity to help.  If you ever talk to someone running an event that depends on Volunteers, you will never be turned away.  The greatest reward is knowing you make the event possible for someone else.