First foray into the PTA

My daughters started at a new school this year (I won't go into why they changed school, or at least not today) and, as is my reasoning for so many things in life, I decided to act in a way that would be the exact opposite of what my mother did when I was a child.

So I joined the PTA. When I met the President, I mentioned that I'd be interested in "taking part". The next thing I knew, I'd been made secretary... which wasn't quite what I meant, but at least the former secretary has said she'll work with me for this first year, so I'm not too bothered.

I missed the first PTA meeting because it's when D was in England, but I did go this evening.

WOW.

This is serious stuff, people!

The current President (and only male) resigned in the middle of the meeting, got up, put on his coat, and left. Leaving the otherwise hyperactive chinwaggers momentarily speechless.

The current Vice-President flat-out refuses to be made President, and a former President has said she will do no more than Vice-President. And no-one else wants anything to do with it. So we remain President-less for the moment (although there was talk of electing someone not present - in jest, of course).

I have volunteered to help out with Christmas Market and the School Newspaper, and possibly one or two other things, and I suspect this will be sufficient. Especially as I don't really know what's involved (so I could really regret all this by the end of the year!).

But there are so many activities, and they all require such serious implication... and also, in many cases, some serious knowledge of the Catholic faith (which I absolutely don't have - and no, it's not hypocritical for an unbeliever like me to have her daugthers in a Catholic school: D is a practising Protestant, and there are no Protestant schools here, plus it's a really good (much sought-after) school, and it's literally a 5 minute walk from where we live).

So I didn't opt to take part in the St Barbe Wheat event (no, I'd never heard of it either), or the Lent Solidarity whatever, or the Communion thing. I'm willing to take part, but pretending to be religious is beyond me.

After the previous school, this PTA really is the business.

In some ways, I like that. Although in others, I feel a little overwhelmed. But I guess I just need to find my feet. And I do love being part of my daughters' school life (my mother never participated in anything unless she could do it on her own, and from home), I love just being involved, even though I'm essentially a deeply antisocial person.

I'm proud of being on the PTA and hope my daughters will be proud of me, too.

I hope one day they'll understand that I did all this for them.