Wondering if I Could Handle Getting Involved

I've been blogging a little less than usual for the past couple of months. Mainly because I've been preoccupied with some drama going on in our neighborhood. It's a very complicated situation that I have no interest in trying to explain here, but when it comes down to it our HOA isn't following the legal document that is supposed to dictate how things are run.

I've been on a fact finding mission that has turned up very few facts, other than everyone is being evasive. I've been feeling so frustrated, defeated, angry and helpless. I have so many questions and I can't seem to find any answers.

Then a small glimmer of hope. Rumor has it a seat on the board of trustees for the neighborhood might become available soon. My first thought is, I need to be on that board. I'm asking questions nobody else is. I'm thinking about this differently. I see so many problems with the way things are being done. If I was a trustee, the conversations I know we need to have would definitely happen.

But I have chronic pain and I honestly I don't entirely know what kind of a time and energy commitment being a trustee would require. Is it 2 hours a week, a month, a year? I don't know how often they meet - honestly I'm not entirely sure they ever have real meetings. There certainly are no agendas, minutes or financial statements made available to the homeowners (this is one of many things I would try to change). It's obviously not a job and can't possibly require a lot of time but without knowing at least a ballpark of what the requirements are I can't exactly commit to putting my name up. After all, it doesn't take much to be too much for me.

I feel like I could handle fielding email questions from other homeowners and if we had meetings every 2 or 3 months. I could make phone calls and communicate with the other trustees to get things done, so long as I could work it in around my pain. I DON"T know if I could handle a constant fight with the other trustees to get them to do the right thing. Either way, I certainly wouldn't want to do it for more than 2 or 3 years, but there is no term length for trustees (another thing I think needs to change).

I wonder how much stress being a trustee would carry with it. Would that stress be better than the current stress of feeling helpless and unsure of how to affect change without any path, power or pocket? Stress has such a big impact on my chronic migraines and my fibromyalgia. I don't want to exacerbate my conditions and I don't want to further complicate my life by taking on something like this. But this is not a choice between having stress or not having stress. No matter what this situation is stressful.

Under normal circumstances I wouldn't want anything to do with being a trustee but these are not normal circumstances. I don't trust our current trustees. I have very serious concerns about how things are being done. I know the neighborhood would benefit from my voice. But I have limitations. I have to be realistic here. I hope when the official word comes down about this seat it is accompanied with adequate information about what is required of a trustee AND some time to consider the decision. I don't have much faith that this will happen but without it, I can't consider the post.