Promised Relief

I always find it interesting that after you've spent weeks on a project (i.e. play, paper for school, birthday party, wedding) the day after feels like you've been run over by a truck.

Yesterday evening was the culmination of an event I've been co-orchestrating since the beginning of September.  The Promise Tree event is an event that comprises: fellowship, fall society meeting, and fundraiser for our school.  I have attended the event twice before this year; once as a table attendee and once as a hostess.  This year I coordinated the dinner portion of the evening, and I was a hostess.  It was quite a large load to carry.

There were points that I just couldn't fall asleep at night because I was worried there wouldn't be enough seats for all those wanting to attend.  I was also performing a job that, in the past, has been done by an alumni/church member.  I am neither.  I am simply a mom of two students.  I had very little direction, even with the few papers that were passed to me.  It was definitely a "baptism by fire" situation.  One that I will (most likely) never volunteer to do again.

I do enjoy hostessing a table of people (this I will gladly do again).  The decorations, the coordination of "who is bringing what," and the fellowship.  However, I felt that determining who would be where was more daunting than both my weddings!  Seriously!  There were people who would come IF they could sit with a certain person (or couple), and there were others who didn't especially want to sit with other people not in their circle of friends.

Of course, there was also the initial confusion with the number of people a round table could accommodate.  I was originally told tables of 10.  In fact, my table last year had 10 people squished around it; I even checked the records and they proved I had 10 at the table.  I suppose we must have been awfully uncomfortable, because 9 chairs barely fit this year.  So after the initial 11 tables, I had to rearrange people and make 12 tables.  Most had 8, some 9 and there was one 10 that used two rectangle tables together.  I will never get those Sunday evening hours back...oh well.

My biggest regret is that I was so consumed with making sure everyone was happy, I never took a picture.  Not of my table beforehand nor the room.  It was a beautiful patchwork of tables in a simple basement of a church/school.  The fact that I had to work all day today - taught from 9:30 to 4:30 - definitely added to my overall exhaustion.  I may just have to skip church in the morning, and have Jim take the ladybugs.  I may just sleep in.  I won't hold my breath.