The busy people

So how is it that some of us don't know when to say "no thank you, I think I have enough on my plate at the moment, but thanks for asking"

Why is that we are so busy with all this stuff going on and then when someone asks for some help with something, we are the first to volunteer?

I tell you what sometimes my husband thinks I am nuts. He just looks at me and shakes his head, knowing trying to talk me out things is a futile effort, with his energy better invested elsewhere.

I suspect that maybe my father is to blame (hey kids can blame their parents for everything these days, right?) Seriously though my father was big on the whole "if you start something you can't let other people down by bailing out"...it started with the school sports teams and went on from there really - if you made a commitment, by heck you had to stick to it.

So here I am as wife and mother to two gorgeous teens (said with total objectivity), working full time, training and teaching karate, and then I still manage to add yet more projects to my life - I think my husband is right, maybe I am nuts.

BUT when it comes to families with children with a hearing loss, how do you say no? I know I can't. I hear that mum with fear, and heart break in her voice, when she is wondering about her child's future, how can I not spend 30-60 mins on the phone with her? When I hear about a government department or fat cat in his ivory tower making some fundamentally stupid decision that will seriously impact on the outcomes of deaf/hearing impaired kids in my state, how can I say, "no thanks, plates a bit full at the moment"? What about that child, what about their right to reach their full potential? Somehow, "I'm a bit busy at the moment" doesn't really cut it, does it?

Fortunately with the power of the internet we are making some bigger groups, educating parents on mass and in turn empowering each of them to work for their own child and perhaps even the children of others in their own communities. The sad reality is that not all parents have it in them to advocate for their children, they need people like us to be there to help them and in turn help their kids...reminds me of the lyrics of one of my favourite songs "Hands" by Jewel.

"We'll fight, not out of spite,
for someone must stand up
for what's right

because where there's a man that has no voice

there ours will go singing....."