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30 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИПЕНЬ-СЕРПЕНЬ 2014 Olia Rudyk and Adrianna Rudyk-Odomirok. there are no frustrating moments. But once I conquer all the obstacles, the sense of accom- plishment is that much more rewarding. Over the years my Mama has given me many opportunities to overcome difficulties and achieve my greatest potential. And so it happened once again. On a cold night in December 2013, Mama dragged me to my first official UNWLA meeting. I had been baking cakes for Branch 30 bake sales for years. I helped plan their 25th anniversary in 2012. Now mama insisted that it was time I came for a few laughs with the ladies and heard what goes on during a meeting. The hot topic that night was the XXX UNWLA Convention. Mama was already chosen as Registration Coordinator. It was at that mo- ment that two feelings immediately rushed over me. First, excitement. Mama had been to a few conventions previously and I understood that it was an impressive event. It was no small meeting in someone's living room sharing coffee and dis- cussing ideas for the next fundraiser. My next feeling, of course, was anxiety. OH NOOOO!!! It was at that moment that I realized why she dragged me to that meeting! As my eyes ran down the list of responsibilities that she had, somehow in my mind's eye my name seemed to appear in bold next to each and every one of them. This would be way more work than baking a cake. And so it began. The registration respons- es started flooding my mother's mail box. The Mi- crosoft Excel spreadsheet began filling up fast. Week after week, I would come over to Mama's and we would review the registration paperwork. Night after night, we would be on the phone dis- cussing the next step—how to tackle the tracking of money, assign numbers, handle meal tickets and name badges. My Mama, who but a few years ago refused to use an email account, was forward- ing me spreadsheets and all sorts of files and re- ports. As the event drew nearer, tension grew, our voices got louder, and phone calls got longer and much later into the night. Then out of nowhere, we went from piles of mail to a mile-long spread- sheet, to more piles of paper, to finally a neatly organized stack of name badges, folders with cop- ies of financial reports, the weekend program schedule, and a tote bag filled with goodies for every delegate and member. We were all set and ready to head to the event. If you ask me now what stands out the most from those weeks prior to the convention, I have but a one-word response—laughter! Mama and I had so much fun. We enjoyed the emails from delegates, members, and guests. My Tato even answered quite a few phone calls and took down interesting mes- sages for us. The more work we did in preparing for the convention, the more enjoyment we shared. The more stress crept up during those final days, the more we laughed to ease the tension. So what finally happened, you ask? Ironi- cally, I was not able to attend the convention. The ladies of Branch 30 took over registration with rolled up sleeves and a high level of enthusiasm on Friday morning, May 23, 2014. The weekend was exhilarating for them. (Please see their photo #14 on the next page.) They greeted everyone with warm smiles. As a team, they performed their functions flawlessly and their friendship was rein- forced. I, on the other hand, am waiting patient- ly for the next convention. It is one I do not plan to miss. Good luck to the future organizers. You will enjoy every minute of preparing for it—that is, of course, if you remember to laugh! Від редакції. Шановні передплатники журналу «Наше Життя»! На останній сторінці журналу є наліпка, на якій в першому рядку є дата закінчення Вашої передплати, наприклад: 12/14 . Це означає, що передплата журналу закінчується в грудні 2014 року. Просимо уважно слідкувати за цією датою і поновлювати передплату журналу вчасно! Editors’ Note. Dear Our Life subscribers! On the last page of the magazine, you will find a sticker that indicates the date when your subscription ends, for example: 12/14 . This means that your Our Life subscription will end in December of 2014. Please carefully note this date and renew your subscription promptly!
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