my reign ends

my time as young women's president has ended.  admittedly, at the start of my 4th year, i began feeling ready for a release.  as one of the busiest callings i've ever had, simply put, i began wanting some of the heart and soul i'd been investing for 3 plus years put to another good use.  (my own kids' needs, a return to social work, cycling) but that didn't stop the flood of emotions i experienced when i was released.  for a week, i cried when i thought of leaving my much younger friends.  the sociality we shared has been an unspeakable joy and light in my life and i can easily recognize the growth i've had from this calling:
i'd say the biggest stretch i made was learning to quiet my need for precision and anticipation and instead welcome spontaneity and flexibility.  (no matter how hard i tried, there were always last minute changes because that is the nature of working with teenagers.)
i also recognized opportunities with my own children to give them more input in their activities and decisions.  (i particularly remember realizing that kindin was very capable of planning for her baptism day.)
i also learned something about not taking offense.  as a people pleaser who is also serving as yw president, it's impossible to please everyone because i found that almost everyone has and shares their opinion about what the youth should be doing.
i like to think that i learned something about fashion during my stint there because every week felt like a fashion show. (i will really miss having stylists at my disposal.)
as i asked them to complete personal progress by example, i rediscovered the joy of goal setting in my own life.  it was at a yw activity that i vowed to begin losing weight.  and i attribute my new hobby of cycling to being around so much goal-orientation.
and finally, if we're talking resume building, i also realized just how much estrogen there can be in a group of 7 women and 24 teenage girls and gained confidence in managing it!
i am so grateful to my heavenly father for trusting me to 'lead' these fine spirits.  though taxing at times, i gained so much and will treasure these very special years.  it was fitting that the yw planned a princess themed new beginnings this year... perfectly timed for the end of my 'reign'.

sidenote: since being released, i am shocked at how much less my phone gets used! (and i welcome it - though for a bit there i kept checking and re-checking to ensure i wasn't missing anything.)  and i already miss the automatic social club i shared with these 6 fantastic leaders!