Relay of Stress

• Posted on July 6, 2009 at 12:17 am

For some unknown reason (probably guilt), I decided I just HAD to be team captain of my company’s Relay For Life team this year, which benefits the American Cancer Society. Here are some of the valuable lessons I learned from this experience.

1. If organizing a team and raising money for a cancer charity actually drives you to start smoking again, it may not have been worth it.

2. When stress causes you to have a constant twitch in your left eyelid for two months, it may have not been worth it.

3. If you spend more money organizing a silent auction than what you actually raised at said auction, it may have not been worth it.

4. If you have to start bargaining with your fellow team members to get them to participate, it may have not been worth it.

5. If you have to start adding fake team members to your roster just to have enough people to qualify, it may have not been worth it.

6. If you have to nag and plead other managers in your district to PLEASE raise SOME money, it may have not been worth it.

7. If you thought it was a great idea to have a pirate theme for your team, then buy tons of stuff with skull and crossbones on it, only to realize that a symbol of death is probably not appropriate at an event honoring those that died of cancer, it may have not been worth it.

8. If you realize this event takes place at one of your company’s busiest times of year, thus inducing mild heart palpitations from the added stress, if may have not been worth it.

9. If you have to spent $70 of your own money to register your team and never get reimbursed for that amount, it may have not been worth it.

10. If you are so completely and utterly burned out by the time of the relay that you just want to blow the entire thing off, it may have not been worth it.

Wow, did that list sound a little bitter or what?! Okay, I really do want to sincerely thank all my friends and family who contributed to my team. We raised over $1,000 dollars for cancer research and I’m sure once I drink away the memory of organizing this event, I will participate again next year (just not as the team captain)!

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