One lesson that was fairly hard for me to learn was that it is possible to take the SCA at a more relaxed pace. You're hitting much the same problem I did for quite a while: since you were massively involved in college, you got used to the charge that comes from being in the middle of the whirlwind. Now that you don't have time for that, it feels a bit hollow.
It took a long time for me to grasp that it's okay to take it a little easier. No, you don't get as much out of it, but I generally found that I got more than I put into it. I varied my SCA involvement up and down for a fair while, spending more time in other clubs. After five or six years of that, I eventually decided that the SCA was my home base, and the other activities were sidelines. (In particular, I found that not going to dance practice just left me consistently miserable, so I made that the center-pole for my schedule.) I spent a year or so semi-gafiated, doing a lot of spudding at home, but gradually realized that I wound up even more tired and cranky when I did that than when I was getting out when I could find the time.
I seriously want you to stay, but this is one you have to work out for yourself. The thing to do is to step outside yourself a little, set aside the inevitable feelings of guilt over "am I doing enough?" (which every former Provost has a bit of, I think), and ask whether there are parts you're enjoying. If so, do those, and don't worry about the rest. That's become my mantra when I'm starting to feel burned out (which happens once every year or two) -- concentrate on what I actually enjoy doing, and screw the rest.
As for the part of not knowing the people around you -- I can't address that one from personal experience (having never really left for any measure of time), but it's important to remember that it takes time to get to know any group, and there's been a lot of turnover. It's been looking to me like you've been becoming "one of the group" again gradually (as I did only about a year ahead of you), but you're the only one who can really judge that...
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timeasmymeasure
Levels of Involvement
Date: 2002-11-18 04:02 pm (UTC)It took a long time for me to grasp that it's okay to take it a little easier. No, you don't get as much out of it, but I generally found that I got more than I put into it. I varied my SCA involvement up and down for a fair while, spending more time in other clubs. After five or six years of that, I eventually decided that the SCA was my home base, and the other activities were sidelines. (In particular, I found that not going to dance practice just left me consistently miserable, so I made that the center-pole for my schedule.) I spent a year or so semi-gafiated, doing a lot of spudding at home, but gradually realized that I wound up even more tired and cranky when I did that than when I was getting out when I could find the time.
I seriously want you to stay, but this is one you have to work out for yourself. The thing to do is to step outside yourself a little, set aside the inevitable feelings of guilt over "am I doing enough?" (which every former Provost has a bit of, I think), and ask whether there are parts you're enjoying. If so, do those, and don't worry about the rest. That's become my mantra when I'm starting to feel burned out (which happens once every year or two) -- concentrate on what I actually enjoy doing, and screw the rest.
As for the part of not knowing the people around you -- I can't address that one from personal experience (having never really left for any measure of time), but it's important to remember that it takes time to get to know any group, and there's been a lot of turnover. It's been looking to me like you've been becoming "one of the group" again gradually (as I did only about a year ahead of you), but you're the only one who can really judge that...