Monday, June 12, 2006

The Tortoise and the Hare

I really enjoyed the wedding - it was a happy, happy day. The first few days after the wedding were some finishing up things - returning tuxedo's, picking up Jonathan's truck, getting to see the wedding photos, etc. But I was definitely tired, happily tired, but tired - both mentally and physically.

I had a week between the wedding and Girl Scout Day Camp. The weekend before the wedding I got a call from Vicky. Her craft person had bailed on her two weeks before camp. Since I had been the director of that camp, I knew how vital it is to have sufficient adults. Both the state health department and the Girl Scouts require a ratio of adults to kids. Plus crafts are usually labor intensive - it was a week that I was "available" - so I said yes. (However, since I was asked before the wedding - I put in the proviso that all I could do was to show up - none of the shopping, etc) This year the craft adult had it easy - I had a wonderful older girl worker - all I had to do was sit back and watch her do the work. The crafts were simple - and I really enjoyed seeing the camp continue. I got to meet the new Membership Development Executive for the area - and I have to say she is wonderful - she also worked the entire week of camp. The downside - it was the hottest week of the year - temperature over 100. All but one day I came home wiped out, crashing to a sound sleep.

I learned several years ago that I am likely an adult with attention deficit disorder. I question the use of the word disorder here, because I find that it gives me many advantages. I have a high native energy (even at 54), I am great at multi tasking, and when the energy level is at its peak, I can get a lot of stuff done. I find adrenalin to be a good thing - most of the time. However, it makes certain kinds of organization much more difficult.

I have also figured out that there is more to that tortoise and hare story than the moral implies - you know - the slow but sure wins the race part. I have learned that there are really two (probably more than two) types of people - the tortoises and the hares. The tortoises are very good at planning things ahead and they slowly but surely and steadily accomplish what they need to do. The hares are good at planning things at the last minute, working on five major projects at one time, and are likely to procrastinate. I find that I am a hare - and in learning to work within that framework - I find that I am glad to be a hare. The years that I was camp director at Day Camp - I could pull it off whether I had enough worker bees or not. A friend of mine and I pulled off a women's retreat with about 6 weeks of planning and work. There ARE advantages in being the hare.

However, the down side - after a big event with lots of energy and effort, the hare must rest. And resting does NOT feel productive - it is depressive. But with God's help, I have learned to ride the tides of high energy efforts and the rest needed afterward. I can truly say - it is OK to be the hare. My moral to the time honored fable - know yourself, figure out if you are the tortoise or the hare - and work within your own personality type to accomplish the tasks God sets before you.

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