Day 2297

Wednesday January 17th 2024

Dear Journal:

Some days there just isn’t a lot to report and today was one of those days, the weather is about normal for mid January days a normally sunny and warm but the evening temperatures drop like a rock, and as strange as it may sound while cloudy days are cooler an overcast sky holds the overnight temperatures higher by holding the warm temperature down. This week has not been a real sunny week but it is winter so the days are still short, as you can see my most of the group below it is not real warm.

This years host volunteers have been getting together once a month for a pot luck dinner and this month our dinner theme is Hawaiian, and after a group photo we enjoyed a number of yummy treats and as always there was way too much food for us to ever consume. This has been a good group to work and we would have no problem working with any of them again. After dinner we sat around the fire pit and exchanged stories of the last months Arboretum experiences, and of course there are always a few stories of adventures and travels that make their way out after a couple of beverages.

After the evening temperatures drive us back into the coach early and the warmth of the heater is welcomed as we settle in to watch some television before tuning in. Volunteer work is not for everyone, and over the years we have seen all kinds of attitudes as well as all kinds of approaches, and as much as everyone’s idea of what volunteerism is. We had no idea what would be expected of us the first year we volunteered, and if someone had tried to explain what I would be doing now, I don’t know if we would have taken the position, but not having any experience we walked in with an open mind. Where as some people come to the position with expectations and get disillusioned when the task doesn’t match, ending in either disappointment or in some cases ending in totally breakdown and volunteers leaving.

Many volunteers approach their positions of what they will and will not do. Where as we approach volunteer positions with what does the organization need us to do? Of course there will be limits to what any individual can do, but unless the task is physically beyond our capability or beyond our level of understanding, we just do what needs to be done. And claiming physical limits on the task should represent your real capabilities. we have many volunteers claim items to see them doing the same back at their site. If your lazy just say your lazy and then move on to position that fits your level on participation. Don’t expect a free ride as that is not how the world works!

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