Get Involved

When hubby and I moved in to our home, we promised ourselves that we would get involved with our town; and we have done just that.  We moved to a small town (population about 17,000) because we both wanted that small town feel but wanted to be close enough to the city so it would be easy for me to commute to work.  When we moved here, I was appointed to one of the city boards, Keep Hutto Beautiful, and I also took the town Citizen's University course so I could learn more.  Because of these things, hubby and I participate in events in our town almost every weekend.  Right now the Farmer's Market is going on and I am having a blast being one of the hosts.  It has allowed me to meet lots of our local farmers as well as many of the city officials. 

The reason I am writing this, is because so many people don't get involved.  They say they don't have time.  The point is, you have to make time.  I did.  I work full time (usually 50-60 hours per week) and go to grad school, but I still find time to attend board meetings once a month and go to volunteer events.  It doesn't take much - just a little effort.  Show up to volunteer events, get to know the people in your community, and make a difference.  Be an influence in your town.  I realize it is harder for those that live in large cities, but I still believe you should be involved.  It is especially important if you own property and pay taxes in a community, that you participate and have a say about what goes on in your community.  This is something that I believe strongly about and really want to encourage others to get involved too. 

Filing

Ever noticed that your filing at home just piles up?  Or maybe it's just my household paperwork that just piles up.  I have great intentions of getting to it, it just doesn't happen.  Here's how it goes in my house.  I receive a piece of mail that needs to be saved or I pay a bill and my portion needs to be filed away.  I put it in the basket o my desk because I need to move on to something else more important, or it seems more important at the time.  I promise myself I am going to just leave it in the basket for a few minutes and I will file it the next time I am at my desk.  Several days go by and that basket is still in the same position with all of the same papers needing to be filed - out of sight, out of mind.  Next thing you know. a few weeks have gone by and the filing just doesn't seem as important any more. I convince myself I know exactly what's in the basket, so it can wait while I finish whatever is more important at this time.  Next thing you know, that basket is full and now it seems overwhelming.  How in the world did that basket get so blasted full?  Then hubby asks a question or needs to find a document.  Oh crap, please don't be in that basket.  Unfortunately, it is always in that basket.  After hubby has to dig through the basket and I start to feel guilty about it being such a mess, then everything gets filed.

I really need to figure out a way to go from the part where I received the mail or paid the bill straight to the part where everything gets filed.