A Guiding Life

Alternatively called 'I'm a Guider get me out of here'!

I'm too busy guiding right now.

Last weekend I was setting up the elephant trail, which had already taken up far too many hours of my time setting up, going round the units to explain, collecting bottles and washing and cutting them to make elephants at Rangers, shopping for glue and tissue paper, eyes, sequins etc. I also collected 10 collection buckets from 2 different places, printed new labels for them and stuck them on.

On Monday I was making armpit fudge and chocolate hedgehogs with my Ranger unit.

Tuesday evening I spent preparing and sending out consent forms for this weekend and next week's activity.

Wednesday I went on the elephant trail with one of our local brownie units.

Thursday I went on the elephant trail with the other brownie unit.

Friday I spent quite a long time discussing with guiders on line where to get vegetarian marshmallows from (not a simple as it initially sounds!) and the alternatives to mechanically recovered meat frankfurters for a no campfire cook out (I'll do a post on how that works another time). I was interviewed by ITV about my opinion of changes to the Guiding Promise (bit of a privilege there I think.) I went to the bank to pay in some parent cheques, did some accounts work and updated the octant paperwork. I went in the attic to find some old tea-towels from the pack holiday kit to use as pan grabs and I opened up 28 1L tetra pack cartons and got them drying out in the sun. And wrote an article for the local paper.

Saturday was a day spent bag packing raising money for our London trip.

Sunday will be spent door knocking to get elephants back.

It's all too much. I still have a couple of Ranger meetings to go including the cook out and remember, I have no other adult helping me. I've been asked to help out one Brownie unit that are going to the local park on their last meeting night and the following night I am to go to a park in a nearby town with the other brownie unit.

I was thinking I need the summer break but I have volunteered to help out on a Baden-Powell guide camp and I have the Ranger trip to London too. I'm also making elephants for a day with the public in the local larger town and I've promised one girl I'll see her through her leadership paperwork over the summer.

I have always tried to continue to help at my Brownie unit, I seem to have managed to get involved with the other, I have always helped at Guides a few times a year, I am adult support for leaders in training and I am running a Ranger unit alone.

I'm drowning in piles of stuff for different activities and yet the continued requests to do more come in. Would I mind helping with this, could I help with that? And usually I say yes. After all I enjoy it. But when it all comes in one week, I'm struggling to keep my head above water.

Or at least above the weeds.