Day 30 - Big Events

February 4, 2015

Day 30

Planning big events is my version of tight rope walking. When the stakes are high the enjoyment increases. It's a risky affair and I love it. I love all stages of the planning as well. The love of big events appeared in college during a leadership class, though it could have ended in disaster, truly, it was the springboard for all the other events from that point forward. But the most important thing that has made it all so wonderful is the opportunity these events have afforded me to grow closer to others. Big events provide purpose and energy making time stand still while a memory grows. My love for events come from an amazing couple, Bob and Suzanne, my parents. I have caught much from watching them.

I love nature, I love to hike, I love the outdoors. Yet, much of that remains in the idyllic stage in a cozy little place in my heart. Now, my high school comrades from Barrington, R.I. are true hikers, frequenting the White Mountains monthly. One of my favorite person from high school hiked the world with her newlywed. I am jealous and yet not.  But in college there was a leadership class that required us to plan an event. I decided it was a hiking trip in the White Mountains. This was in my infancy stage of planning and back then the details were not important. Let's just say that we almost were a "Reader's Digest" nightmare. There was a snowstorm, we were on the top of a mountain, obviously we all survived, but it was miserable. However, the memories provide a smile and the relationships were not hindered. (the other fellow comrades might not be so nostalgic)

The big events have been many and varied over the years and with all of them I have recognized the need to focus on THE most important goal. This has superseded all the other goals swirling around an event. It is this - the building of relationships. If we are not enjoying ourselves, learning from each other, growing closer together, then the event is a failure even if it is outwardly a success. In the words of one of my favorite songs, "It's all about that bass, bout that bass, no treble!" Switch it out and use love for bass and trouble for treble.

The depth one can go with a fellow eventer is deep. You learn so much about each other. You are managing details in the midst of busy lives. You are putting someone before you as you watch them sacrifice their time, their resources and their time and their resources. (yes, I meant to repeat myself) You are part of the 20%ers in life and you love it. You have no time to view the 80 %ers with disdain, you are caught up in the thrill of eventing. 

As you plan, you process the twists in the road, you pray about the obstacles, you hash out your differences, you learn to avoid the areas of weakness in someone for the good of the group, you hear tough stuff that needs to be tweaked in your life. You learn to work with others for a purpose. And we all long for purpose. But many of us have been lied to, "it takes too much energy." The 80%ers who give just a little bit of their time have no idea what they are missing - more energy! 

Big events create more energy, they create the moments that survive. This is what I love. This is my drug. This is my rock climbing, my bungy jumping. The 80%ers can continue to economize, schedule out their involvement with these events, we 20%ers have enough of a tribe to do what needs to be done. 

Speaking of events, come Friday afternoon there will be over 80 women joining together for the IF:Gathering at St. James Parish of RCC. We join a myriad of groups all over the country coming together  collectively for a purpose in individual settings. When this event was presented to me by Erin Bale I had no idea what it would morph into, no idea. What has made this event so meaningful to me is not only planning this with the sweet and purposeful Erin Bale, the energetic and thoughtful Dale Cupo, the pensive and insightful Elizabeth Licitra, the hardworking, not lacking in foresight Lillian Christman, or the warm and inviting Holly Lewis but my amazing daughter, Robyn Saunders.

The focus on relationships that has remained intact with "all events considered" over the many years is coming full circle to me. This is what makes this event so relationally satisfying,  I am running alongside this event with my highly organized and efficient Robyn. It might be more than I can take. The event has already been successful as we have grown as a team with the other women mentioned above, still in our infancy. But it ding, ding, dings of success as I have grown more in love with my firstborn. She is a true comrade in the love of big events and she has brought order out of chaos for this weekend. 

This gathering will pull Robyn and I together in our separate sort of ways. We will enjoy the event from different vantage points. She will sit high in the balcony controlling all that is necessary for the simulcast, content as ever as only an introvert would be. I will stand in front energized by the crowd, happy as a lark, as only an extrovert would be.

We love Big Events!

(Robyn, fellow Big Eventer)