I have to confess I am in awe of some of the locals. I go to a meeting and there they are. I head to the next meeting, and they greet me at the door, having somehow outdistanced me from place to place.
They are always on time, always prepared and always clean and neat in appearance. I am usually late, have to dig through a raft of papers to find the appropriate agenda and I usually look like I have been dragged through a bush backwards.
I am sure that these folks’ homes are neat, clean and decorated seasonally. In fact, I know some of them are because I see them selected as the yard of the month or drive by and turn green with envy. Well, maybe not envy, because I try not to break the Big 10, but I sure wish my yard or living room looked that good.
These people also exercise regularly. I can tell because they are never out of breath when they arrive at the meetings or run up and down a flight of stairs at the football games they regularly attend. They don’t huff and puff when they step into their clean, shiny vehicles to pick up the lunch they remembered to order before noon. That, or they own a gym or a farm or both, so I know they exercise.
Their dogs are well behaved, go to the vet on schedule for their well pet care and never sleep on the pillows when their owners are not at home.
They are never late to church and their projects are completed in less than three or more years.
Our yard could be the poster child for drought, I consider seasonal paper towels decorating and think of lifting a margarita exercise. I still haven’t been to an Eagle football game, I’m sure the previous owner of my truck cries when he sees how dirty it is and I only order lunch ahead of time if I’m afraid the senior center will run out of liver and onions.
The dog is a corgi, so it goes without saying he hasn’t minded us ever, he gets to the vet every three years whether he needs to or not, and he actually has his own pillow in an attempt to keep him from sleeping on my pillow. If I get to church on time, it is a small miracle, and my hope is to finish my daughter’s wedding quilt before her kids graduate from college with their masters’ degrees.
But really, none of us is that far removed from the people we wish to emulate. We all are out there every day, working, trying, swinging for the bleachers. Maybe the cookies you send for the kid’s bake sale fundraiser aren’t worthy of Martha Stewart. But you sent some.
What I mean here is cut yourself a little break. Yes, keep trying, keep working hard. But don’t quit because you aren’t perfect, or because you need to unplug every now and then. The same ten people who are involved in almost every facet of the community need you. Find an group, cause or assembly that interests you and lend a hand. It will help both parties in ways you can’t begin to know until you start.
Who knows, maybe even I will get organized. One day.