It dawned on me that my brain has just simply not had the time or capacity. I have been too distracted to think about my writing, and now here I am, just a few days before the deadline, trying to pump it out while Hunter sleeps on the couch beside me. And why has my brain been so distracted? I only have myself to blame: It’s because I am a ‘yes’ person.
Every small community across the country, including the Chathams, has a group of ‘yes’ people. Perhaps you are a ‘yes’ person yourself. If not, I bet you know a ‘yes’ person – a person who just can’t say ‘no’. I am most definitely a ‘yes’ person.
In an island community like the Chathams, with such a small population and a limited reach in terms of people who are willing or able to contribute to community groups, it means you often find the same people working across a number of different committees. I currently sit on the netball club committee as secretary and on our kohanga reo (preschool) committee as treasurer; I am in the depths of putting together a cookbook as a fundraiser for our local sporting facility, and I have recently been nominated to the Chatham Islands Conservation Board. To top it off, I have been busy writing submissions against the proposed changes to our Department of Conservation office, which would result in a number of job losses.
Each of these roles has its own set of tasks and deadlines, and although they may seem small and simple, it all adds up when you are trying to fit it all in between working and mum life. So yes, saying ‘yes’ sometimes comes at a cost – swapping evenings at home for meetings, report writing or making posters; giving up Saturday mornings with the family for sausage sizzles. Nevertheless, this work is highly rewarding. I know my efforts affect a number of people in our community. For example, netball is the only sport on offer to adults on our island during the winter, and the positive effect this has on locals’ physical, mental and social well-being is too great to see it come to an end. I hope to see the club continue to grow over the next few years.
My ‘yes’ attitude has perhaps been inherited from my parents and grandparents who all featured as regulars on planning groups, events and fundraising committees, and on the local council in the small Central Otago town where I grew up. Or perhaps it’s my ‘if you want something done, do it yourself’ attitude. We all agree that these people are pivotable in our communities. Without them, groups don’t function, and things just don’t get done. Events and fundraisers don’t happen, facilities are lost and, over time, sometimes abandoned. Over the years, for a number of different reasons, the Chathams has closed the doors on the local gun club, the golf club and the senior rugby club. In light of this, I will continue to be a ‘yes’ person (although I probably need to reign it in somewhat for the sake of my sanity) for as long as this community needs me to be one. It would be heart-breaking for me to see more groups or events die off, and the Chathams lose its tick.
This story appeared in our May Social Club newsletter.
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