Director's Diary No. 12: As My Term as a Board Member Nears Its End [March 5, 2025]

Hello.
The end of my term as a board member is now in sight.
Today, I will write about the period after the structure for the next term has been decided.

I was notified that the next board chairperson had been decided

One day, I received an email from the management company.
It was a notice saying, "The board chairperson for the next term has been decided."

When I saw the name,
(Oh, this person seems like they will be fine)
I thought immediately.
They are calm when responding at board meetings,
and they are the type of person who explains things politely to the residents.

Knowing that the role would officially pass to that person,
I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.

Since that day I declined, my heart has felt much lighter

A while back, on the day I was approached about becoming board chairperson,
I was truly conflicted at the time,
but I am glad I clearly declined.

More than the moment I declined,
I feel like I have had more "peaceful moments" in the days since then.

It is not that I dislike the work of a board member itself,
but I also felt that I should not do it at the expense of my own pace of life,
so I feel that I did not push myself unnecessarily.

The board meetings have also taken on an atmosphere of the term ending

The board meetings since the start of the new year
have had a generally calm atmosphere.

The large-scale repairs have settled down,
there are no major agenda items,
and the focus is on daily management matters.

As we read through the minutes
and organize the items to be handed over to the next fiscal year,
I naturally thought, "Is it already that time of year?"

Even when talking to residents, I feel like I have moved away from being the "person they consult with"

Even when I meet residents recently,
I am consulted less about the details of the building than I used to be.

Perhaps,
seeing the list of next term's board members posted on the bulletin board,
the residents may also realize that it is a time when roles are shifting.

Even if someone says in the elevator, "It was a tough year, wasn't it?",
it does not feel like a "consultation,"
but rather closer to a normal greeting.

On my way home, I suddenly felt a sense of quiet

On my way home from recent board meetings,
my mood has been much calmer than before.

I walk home with fewer piles of documents,
and I no longer go home worrying about the next agenda item.

As I walked under the lights of the common corridor, I thought,
(It's been a little over a year, and a lot has happened),
but I didn't think about it any more deeply than that.

There were good times and difficult times, but
I feel satisfied now, with the sense that I have done what needed to be done.

How I feel now that the end of my term is approaching

At this point,
all that's left is to spend the remaining months calmly.

You realize it once you become a board member, but
while it isn't flashy work,
I certainly had the feeling that I was supporting life in the condominium little by little.

From next term, I think it would be nice to live normally as just another resident
and continue to watch over the condominium quietly.

That was how I felt today.