By Renee Martinez
I love when moms volunteer to help their sons sports teams out. It’s a great example to the boys to see mom on the field barking out the drills and rallying the team. After all, women can be great (name of sport here) coaches too.
Then, there are moms who like to volunteer to do everything. They work, they coach, they are the scout mom, active in church, PTA mom, they go to the gym, are in a book club, and they bake cookies for the bake sales. Some moms juggle everything seamlessly – others, not so much.
Enter my sons soccer coach. At first, she seemed like a nice enough human. She was a bit flustered, but heck, I am too most of the time, so I won’t hold that against her! Then the practice day changed and things started getting a bit unorganized from there. We were told incorrect times on more than one occasion.
Do you know how aggravating it is to wake up a baby to take your son to soccer, then gather the remaining 3 other children – dressed and ready – making sure dinner will be ready when we return – then cart their whiny buns to a field on a cool damp day, only to find that the wrong information was communicated? Yeah, not so much fun.
Or, how about the time her son had to borrow a jersey for the photos because she forgot his. Oh…one more. How about when she told us the game started at 10:30, but it really started at 10:15…and she showed up at 10:40. That was the day she was apparently let go from her voluntary coaching position. I mean nothing cruel by this post. Really. I just feel bad for the kids when they get a dud coach. They were disappointed. Plus, we’re paying for this! Need I mention the example that she’s setting with her own children?
I think it’s important that our children see us as an example. Being organized and trying our best with what we choose to do is an important lesson. We cannot possibly do everything our best if we are taking on more than is humanly possible. Plus, we’ll burn out if we do too much, then we won’t want to do anything. It’s better not to volunteer for things if it will turn out to be too much. There have been times when I’ve over committed. That’s when you need to recognize when to let go or ask for help. It’s OK to ask for help. Doing so won’t make anyone less of a person. In fact, it makes people stronger.
Some moms truly amaze me. I have no idea how they can hold it all together and still function. I guess it’s possible, but is it worth it? Is the super mom super happy? Sometimes, it’s good to stop and take a break from all the commitments. Look around and inventory what’s working and what’s not.
Most importantly, recognize what you can and can’t handle. Personally, I’d rather do less and be considered reliable and do the best I can, than to do something half-assed and disappoint or embarrass anyone with my craziness (especially my kids). In the end, it’s good to remember the words: Thanks for asking, but I just can’t help out this time. Keep me in mind for next time.
About the Author: Renee consults and speaks professionally on social media marketing, integrated marketing communications, public relations and branding. She is the president of Ruby Marketing Communications (www.rubymarcom.com), a boutique marketing communications company that specializes in providing branding, social media strategy and integration, and creative services. Her blog (www.lisac95.sg-host.com), provides resources on everything marketing and social media for her active audience.
Renee has contributed as a featured monthly columnist in the monthly jewelry industry publication, JCK, on matters related to internet marketing as well as in InStore Magazine as a featured blogger where she writes about developing effective marketing strategies for the jewelry industry using social media. She is the founder of: Social Media Biz Summit (www.socialmediabizsummit.com), the first large-scale SM conference to come to Buffalo, NY; #jewelrychat, a weekly twitter chat for the jewelry industry and www.RaisingBoysWorld.com. Renee teaches social marketing courses at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY for the business school as well as offers small group social media marketing training and educational seminars for businesses in Western New York and beyond.
Renee has dabbled in the internet marketing arena since the early 90′s and is not ashamed to call herself a “marketing geek”. From chatting in AOL, “sharing” music on Napster, and teaching HTML classes before it was considered “cool” to developing comprehensive social media strategies, effective public relations campaigns and managing online communities (most recently Chevy Girls Buffalo).
She enjoys being able to help people find their voice online and to create buzz about their product or service that will give them the results they desire.
Renee can be found on Twitter (@reneemmartinez) and Facebook (http:/www.facebook.com/RubyMarCom).
