Being Bossy

Have I told you already that I’m a Leo? Probably. And although not everyone believes in horoscopes, an awful lot of the basic character traits associated with each star sign seem to fit most people. With me, it’s the Leo “leader” trait, combined with a slight Virgo tendency to want everything to be neat and tidy. I say slight, because it only surfaces occasionally, but I blame that on the fact that I’m born three days away from the Leo/Virgo border and who wants to be a Domestic Goddess anyway? My cupboards certainly don't look like the one in the photo below!

Anyway, I don’t mean I aspire to being prime minister or anything like that, but I do like to organise things, people and events. Being bossy, others might call it (and frequently do!) – my best friend, who I’ve known since I was five, always complains that I bossed her around when we were kids. I maintain she should have stood up for herself and not let me, but that’s another story ... The fact is, I enjoy any kind of organising!

Take the school PTA for instance. When my daughters were in junior school, I wanted to get involved because it seemed like a great way of being part of their school world. I quickly found out that not many other parents felt this way and that if the PTA members wanted anything done, it was a lot faster to do it yourself than to ask anyone to help. I did a two-year stint as chairman with very little thanks (except from the school staff, who appreciate all the help they can get) and a lot of hard slog. Even so, I enjoyed it immensely. (And yes, I know things are different in the States and Canada – the PTA seems to be a lot more important over there.)

Now my girls have grown up and left school, and I have moved on to a much nicer committee – that of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. I’ve been on it for more than four years now and I’ve loved every minute. As we all know, being an author can be lonely, so it’s great fun to be a part of the running of an organisation such as the RNA. You get to meet some lovely people, help make decisions that affect us all and best of all (for me) I get to organise things, like awards and events! (Right now, I'm helping to put together a Regency Day, which Julie and Biddy will take part in as well, which is great.)

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it can be very rewarding to get involved, even if sometimes it’s really hard work and you know you should probably be concentrating on other things (like actually writing something!) instead. This week the RNA committee welcomes Anna on board and I hope she will enjoy it as much as I have and still am. And anyone else who is hesitating – I would highly recommend joining whatever society or group you’ve been debating about, I'm sure you won’t regret it!

Anyone else like to be “bossy”? Or do you have any of the traits typical of your star sign?

Come back on Sunday to hear from Liz