Lets go for the big group hug and move on . We are only here for a short time so make sure it's a good time .

dave06 wrote:

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oh you bloody whingeing sooks, jesus h christ, what i wouldnt give to be in your situation, I start work at 7am and dont finish until 7pm, I then man the phones until around midnight, sometimes a lot later, taking crisis calls from all over australia,

on the weekends I help fellow travellers with their vehicle repairs as well as man the phone and my social life, I also run a tungsten tool sharpening business which I have owned and ran for the past 25 years

I try to fit my 30 year old mild to severe cerebral palsy sons well being (showering, toileting, feeding, dressing, entertaining, bedding) in amongst that lot as well as dropping him to and from various obligations

my wife works 7 days a week in the caring industry, usually averaging between 65 and 85 hours a week, because there is a huge shortage of people willing to work in this industry,

I average about 60 hours a week not counting my volunteer work, in there I try to fit a "life" as well

if you have a problem with a voluntary organisation then get into another, there are plenty that are screaming out for them, try telephone counselling, we cant get enough vollunteers

if you cant find a way to fill up your life with meaningfull pleasure and undertakings then you are either lazy or stupid or both and you dont deserve it!!!!!!!!!!!

I have quite a few freinds who are retired and they wonder how the hell they ever found time to go to work in the first place, they are busier now with a far more enjoyable lifestyle than they ever were in the workforce and some owned their own business, they dont miss the garbage for one second, it really is a great thing to look forward to!!

I cant wait to retire just so I can sit and contemplate my toenails and not think about other's problems, just for a little while, it will all be about me and my gal!! cant bloody wait!!! let me loose!!!

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Give up or cut back  the volunteer work  and put  the time back into your own life.  In the world of volunteers you are only a number to be call upon for the troubles of others  not the corner stone, it won't fall apart without you.  Family must come first, without them you have a very deep hole in you life and heaven forbid should anything happen to you who is going to take your place at the head of the table.

While volunteering is a  nice way of giving back to other  it must not become a career path or an obsession .    Test it out ring in on day and lets then know your aren't available  ,I'll bet the world still revoles and the sky doesn't fall .

Basil Faulty wrote:

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I think Wombats advice is good Dave. I know myself how reliant others become on you as a volunteer and somtimes we loose touch with reality (Says he who can be totally delusional) but if you take a long deep breath occasionaly it causes others to also stop and think in my case "where is that old fool and his dog? they should be here I need them" the crisis will pass, the sun will come up tomorrow and life continues. You can't help all of the people all of the time and most don't appreciate it anyway, but it is so satisfying to help those who need help and rewarding to have your help acknowledged that you continue to vollunteer.
Your own health and well being is however the prime concern, posthumous awards will not pay the bills!

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Some very good advice there.

 

this will be my last post

if you re-read the whole string you will see that my initial response to the post was "generic" not aimed at anyone, only those that choose to "waste" their time

"carol's" response was specific, straight back at me, questioning "my" right to respond to a posting, she didnt like the answer that was given back and so she packed up her bat and ball and went home or should I say to another forum

well sorry bout that chief but out here in the real world people "respond" when talking is going on, the answer of course is to "respond" back, it's called "conversation" and it happens out here in the real world, some of the "responses" we get we dont like

try sitting around a fire with 20 - 30 people and not have a little bit of controversy, I have, many times

but we must learn to "give and take" and not pack up and go simply because we dont like the way the conversation is going

I will admit I was quick with my "response" due to unforseen cirumstances but in no way do I owe any form of apology and none will be forthcoming

however BOB, due to the controversy you will have one of the highest rating posts to be ever launched on to the forum,

most members do not post, they simply go from one forum to another looking for controversy like some sort of "life seekers" theirs is so sad they look to latch on to others

I have never and will never belong to another forum as I see it as a great waste of valuable time, and I cant understand those forum surfers who do it all day long,

there are those who may be disabled but even then there are other more beneficial lifestyles

Bamphoto, I am in the grade 2 crisis phsyc, there is only one level above me and I am training to accept that post, I counsel the counselors as well as handle the "at high risk section" mostly familys with young children in exceptional volitile circumstances (possible multi victim support or casualty's)

wombat family has always come first and if you read my posts you will see that I have an enormous support stratagem, however a lot of people dont have this

to get to my training and skill level it takes a lot of years, in my case 25 years of training and study and I am still forging ahead so as to help others,

if I cut back then the world still turns but people die without anyone knowing, hard for someone on the outside to understand, I have however put in for "term replacement" this cannot happen overnight and will not be instant, I cannot just not answer the phone regardless of how I feel because it is called a "crisis call" because it is exactly that

I will leave this post up for comment until this afternoon whereupon I will withdraw my membership, so t"toodles" and catch you on the flip side, hope to see some of you out there some day!!