Well, it's done

I am officially done with the newsletter and have probably pissed off the executive board to boot. I'm still taking the high road and uploading all of the files I have for it, but the silence that I have received from the president is really evidence enough of their feelings.

All in all, my being done is a very good thing. The club is nothing like I wanted it to be when I started it last year and I'm just as happy to be shut of them. The club is now like the classic dysfunctional family, all form and no function. On paper they look fantastic - a whole slew of members, a great website and message board, a professional looking newsletter, and a full calendar with events almost every day of the week. The reality is that of the forty plus members on paper, only a dozen or so are active, there are even less posting on the message board. The calendar is full of events that no one goes to because the executive board doesn't bother to commit. I stopped maintaining the message board on the website a few months ago and now the whole site may be going soon as well, and you already know about the newsletter. When I was still on the executive board I tried to address many of these issues, but was met with the response, "it's just a moms club," and that I was being too keen (my description, because who in this day and age uses keen?). The best part was because I held myself to this high standard, they did as well. When things started getting flaky around the edges I wasn't only dealing with the guilt I was putting on myself for not keeping up but a healthy serving from them as well. To be fair, some of that was just perceived, but to be fair to myself a decent amount was truthfully coming from them.

In the end, this abrupt cessation was the only way I could get myself out of it. I didn't want to do it this way, but I can't do what they want me to do any more and I can't stand to see the club I started as a way to connect with other moms turned into a clique. When things calm down and I have a better handle on life, I may try again, probably a different organization or just starting my own from scratch. I know what to do and most importantly what not to do. I got what I wanted out of this - proof that I could do something like this, experience, and two fantastic friends.