It does pay to volunteer

I have been kinda upset with the whole volunteer thing lately.. It seems that no matter what I do, crap screws up.

I know that I volunteer for a few differnt reasons. ONE, I am social. I also NEED to have my fingers in everything. I see something, and if I want it changed, I know the only way is to do it myself. OR if I want to be a part of a great thing, I step up.

Two. My mom didnt even go to a play I was IN, much less help out, so, I want to make sure that not only are my boys in everything they WANT to be in (with in reason, I HATE soccer, so we dont do soccer... ) but that I am there with them. (sometimes making it better)

three. I cant afford to tithe, I cant afford or refuse to send money to red cross, salvation army, womens shelters etc. SO, I volunteer for these places, or places like them for my 10%.

ANYWAY, I dont expect to get anything OUT of volunteering, I dont expect pay, or a pat on the back. I learned long ago that there is always someone who is taking credit for the whole thing, and it aint you. so I dont ever think a thing about not being told thank you or being recognized in papers and such. I know that sounds trite, but BR gets SOOO mad when he sees "PTA bought benches to beautify school" in the paper and the picture has 3 girls in it that are NOT me. and I am the one who went and got them, and set them up... Ijust laugh and tell him that its the way it works.

BUT, I dont expect to get crapped on either. (a few long stories, not really relevent, but they just kept me down for a while)

BUT, today, out of the blue, a mom from my kids baseball teams calls me

She is in the taxes deptartment for the county. I was thinking when I heard her voice and saw the caller ID and she said "michelle, I am not trying to get in your business" that she was telling me that I had better pay up all my taxes.. LOL (they are high, I pay what I can when I can. LOL )
But no. they are raising the rates and she wanted to give me a heads up adn get me in there to change the way my land is listed, so they will stay down.

I told her THANK YOU! she said "no problem, I saw that you were fixing to get raised and although I am not supposed to, I always try to help out folks I know that are always going the extra mile for others."

I swear, I have spoken to her maybe 3 times, she is never very chatty, very seldom there, and I was actually afraid that she was jealous or something, because her hubby always talks to me, jokes with me etc. (he brings the kid to all the practices) --

BUT all the BS I have dealt with for baseball this year, has been WELL worth this small thing. I dont care if I never get a thank you. I am saving a few hundred... LOL

so sometimes you gotta see the small things that come out of what you do. and I think I forget that sometimes. I really do.

That's great, Chelle! Peope do notice the work you do!

That's great Chelle, and really nice for her to do, and must be a huge relief. I do have to be thankful, we have some of the lowest taxes in the state, so even when they went up it's still less than half of what we would be paying if we had gotten the house I really wanted.

I am the opposite...LOL... I HATE sports, except for soccer. I hope my kids never do baseball or basketball... I would literally die of boredom, I can't stand either one. I would prefer watching the grass grow.

I'm sort of the opposite, too. I can't stand watching baseball. Everything seems to go in slow motion. Or something. LOL I will fall asleep when baseball is on the tv and I hear that commentary. It's a natural cure for insomnia. Better than a lullabye! Soccer never bothered me, either. Hockey Rules, though.

Hmm...I guess I am the suspicious type. If you've hardly talked to her, and you've had a feeling she might be jealous of you talking to her husband...I'd be wondering why she was looking up my property to begin with...umm....she probably IS jealous!

And who wouldn't be jealous of Chelle? She's a firecracker! With big Texas hair!

This is true, but she always has guns....she might have rethought about being on her bad side.

Oh I have to agree Lori- I love hockey but the closest option for that is over an hour away or I would be on that in a heartbeat, lol.

Lucky wrote:This is true, but she always has guns....she might have rethought about being on her bad side.

She sure does seem well-armed!

LOL y'all are crazy

no, she works in the tax office, and they are reclassifing, and rerating everything. She did my whole abstract, and she looked something something up for me too ;-)

PLUS, land records are public- or at least the taxrolls are. or they always have been when I wanted to go in and find something out. LOL

I just fiqured that she didnt like me. Lots of people dont. ;-) Instead I find out that she liked me, she just was kinda.... unsure how to jump in and talk to me. cause I am always going 90 to nothing (her words, not mine as told to my husband tonight, when he expressed my and his thanks for the tip )

He told her that I am not always that busy, I am just so scatterbrained that I look busy, most times I am just trying to remember where I was headed when I stood up...

Plus, she was scared I would take it as her being in my business, and she has seen me speak my mind. He laughed, told her that no, anytime you can save me money, you aint in my business. and if she finds a deal at wags and calls me, I'll probebly send her flowers..

I am not close to BR during th games. I am in the stands keeping score, he is in the dugout. Since her DH stays down there and helps she stands at the fence alot of th etime.

That's awesome. I volunteer too. Well, not so much this year. Zoe and Quinn are NOT cooperative about things like that. But I used to all the time, and I will again once they're both in school full time. I'm like you. I view it as my tithing. I don't trust a church or charity to spend money as well as I'm able to spend it. Not putting them down or saying they're dishonest, but they don't usually penny pinch the way I do. They're too busy and overwhelmed. They tend to just pay the price on the shelf. So I donate goods that I bought for a song or I donate time volunteering. I feel better about that than just giving money that I know might be wasted.

exactly karen. OR they have overhead. the overhead pisses me off SOOO bad. why does the CEO of a non profit make in the millions? seriously?? If I can do it, and do it as a pure volunteer, with 4 kids, why can some rich bitch do it?

Dont get me wrong, travel and such, I dont mind if that is covered in the money I give. IF its not for some stupid retreat. BUT, I think that the fat cat sitting in a penthouse office on 5th avenue doesnt need my little piddly 25.00. they could cut out a catered lunch and save that much money.

and your right, very few non profits or such will shop around. Its usually a back scratching thing.

I agree with both of you. I do have to say my volunteering has greatly decreased since having Rylan..... if I could afford a babysitter I could probably afford to give, lol. I do donate and once he starts acting human enough he'll go with me. I do give money but to very specific places. Cancer research, SMA, MS but it's not much. I donate lots of goods, heck I even 'shop' for things to give to the food pantry.

I hate everyone sending me stupid mailing labels... makes me feel guilty. I ain't sending money but they keep sending them.

I donate stuff or if they're a local place I will make out a check to the electric company and send to them to apply to their bill. That way I know that MY money went to pay their real bills, not just pay for a lunch meeting. I also buy books for the library, LOL. Our library here is filled with some wonderful people and great programs for kids and adults. If I buy a book at a yard sale that's in great condition, then when I'm done reading I donate it to the library. They have a sale rack of their extra copies there, too, so if they already have it they can sell it to someone else for about what I paid for it.