I quit.

Today I quit.

I quit as the HRP (Homeroom Parent) for my daughter's kindergarten class. Yes, I cried. I didn't want to quit. I wanted to plan fun class parties and enjoy the time watching my daughter grow up. I wanted to support her teacher and know her friends. I wanted to help with the Halloween Festival and serve cookies at the end of the year. But, unfortunately, that's not going to happen. At least not in the way I had hoped.

I signed up as a new-to-the-school parent hoping to get involved. I e-mailed the teacher and I went to the meeting. I agreed to work with another mom who wanted to be a Co-HRP, but said she didn't want to do it on her own. What actually happened is that the other mom instantly responded to all the e-mails taking full credit for everything and mentioning me as an afterthought. She even set up a playdate for the class - which she didn't attend. She showed up late to the HRP meeting and left early before we could actually talk. It's only a few weeks into the school year and I could see the writing on the wall . . . a whole year of her being very public about her role and me working behind the scenes.

Now if you know me, you know I'm generally a hard worker and don't mind being out of the spotlight. In fact, I usually prefer it. But for some reason this one rubbed me the wrong way. I think it was more the lack of communication than the work distribution.

Also, you probably know that I can get along with almost anyone if I need to. And that's what stopped me. I don't need to get along with this woman. I'm not required to work with her. I volunteered to work, for free, at my daughter's school because I want to help. And let's be honest - for fun! That's right. Over-involved moms who spend all day at the elementary school and doing it for their own enjoyment. (Don't bother playing martyr here . . . ) So this is not a job; I'm not being compensated, and I don't have to spend my time dealing with a person who frustrates me. In fact, I bet I frustrate her too!

I also volunteer to accompany the class to the library once a week, so I do get to meet my daughter's friends and hang out with the kids. And I love to read, so sharing books with them is awesome! And I volunteer on Thursdays to make copies for the kindergarten teachers, so I still get to support her awesome teacher, work with another cool mom, and be involved at school. While stepping down from the HRP role, I also ended up in contact with the silent auction coordinator for the Fall Festival, so I still get to help with that too!

So while I'm feeling a sense of loss and failure at 'quitting' the Co-HRP position, it's pretty clear that it wasn't right for me. Maybe next year I'll be a solo HRP. Maybe I'll just keep finding other ways to stay involved. Maybe my schedule will settle down and I'll want to invest the time/effort to try to partner with someone rather than just wanting to get it done efficiently. Who knows?

As I scrolled through facebook today, I saw this . . .

Well, I just got let go.It's amicable, role wasn't completely right for me and I probably knew it. Boss is great though, going to help me find another gig that I would be better suited to. I really do love the field, it's just that this particular job didn't work out. 

Posted by a friend, and it perfectly sums up how I feel.