This weekend, I found myself a single parent, with my partner out of town, hosting a bachelor party for his brother.  In addition, because of a shift in scheduling for the semester, I had not only 1, but 2 classes worth of grading to get done, 3 events to get my son to on Saturday (and 2 more on Sunday), and we’re in the midst of a preview of the terrible two’s by my 21-month old little girl.

So, contribution.  Yes.

Saturday, my contribution was to my family and my students.  I got up at 4:30 am to grade until both kids were up, then focused my attention on them, got my son to his activities, got my dog walked, practiced patience with my little girl (who was none too happy about being dragged around to 3 different activities that were not geared towards 2 year olds), and even had some fun. I didn’t get to bed until almost midnight.  But, I spent my (19-hour) day contributing to the goals of my students and my family.

As I’ve noted, contribution as a lens is helping me realize more and more the contribution around me.  Saturday, I recognized in a real way, the contributions that my husband makes as a co-parent everyday, and was blessed by the contributions of community, as my friends came together to shuttle my son home (completely out of their way) and stay with the kids so I could walk the dog without waking the baby.

Sunday, my contribution was to a close friend of mine who is running the LA marathon for the Asian Pacific Islander Obesity Prevention Alliance (APIOPA).  One of the things that this Lenten season of contribution has helped me to do is to be more active in supporting the people I love doing the things that they are committed to, in order to support various communities.

We truly do go farther together and this season is one of walking (and running) in faith together.  Hope you all have a great week!