A Little Effort Beats None At All

I don't know if you ever struggle with this, but I feel like if I can't do a 110% job on something then it isn't worth doing. Not that I aim for sub-standard, but here's what I mean: I got a text from a friend today with a picture of her two daughters, one recuperating from an emergency appendectomy, and one headed to Children's Hospital because her asthma is getting hard to control. Without even thinking it through, I offered to bring her a meal for tonight.

Then, when I did think it through, I realized that I might not even be home at dinner and that the plans I already had for this afternoon precluded me from staying home cooking. So, I called her and asked if I brought something frozen would she be able to throw it in the oven. When she said yes, I told her that I would be dropping off spaghetti sauce and Market Day lasagna roll-ups, after I ran to the store and grabbed some spaghetti sauce. Since she had some spaghetti sauce, I ended up just dropping off the roll-ups.

Here's the thing: my friend still felt loved and cared for even though nothing hot and bubbly was handed over. If I had talked myself out of dinner because it didn't meet the good church lady expectation I lay on myself, I would've missed a chance to let her know I cared.

In my writing room, I have a picture that says "The worst thing you write is better than the best thing you never wrote."

Basically, we can talk ourselves out of doing anything because we feel like it doesn't measure up. But I would rather do something imperfectly than not at all.

At least I'm trying to prefer that.

How about you?

(On a related note, I thought I would spend my four days off from work dreaming up glorious posts to dazzle and amaze you with. It didn't happen. I almost didn't post this one because it didn't seem to be enough...but I guess that is the moral of this whole day...do what you can with what you have.)