07/24/2026
My son graduated this year from high school. For a short time, he played baseball. His baseball coach would tell the boys to contribute, which is great. Contributing to self and contributing to the team are different things I think.
I had some thoughts about contributing I wanted to share, that have been shaped by some things I went through over the past couple weeks. Giving blindly doesn't mean we are contributing meaningfully to anything. That just leads to burnout. If everyone else is just taking, our contribution ends up being pointless. Setting limits, creating structure, and following a plan is usually how our contribution leads a team to win. Some people don't need structure. Some people do. It's important to know which kind of person you are!
Seeing ourselves as part of a team can change how we show up and navigate life. I appreciate baseball for showing my son that his performance, and how he shows up in life, is about more than just himself.
I had to edit this down so many times, because the idea of taking, extracting, doing for self, versus contributing, thinking of the team and maybe looking at the bigger picture can apply to so many areas of life. Anyway, mom philosophy time is over. Meet my son, Ian!
His grandparents took him to London, Paris, and Rome. They are awesome. Shout out to grandparents! Here he is in (guess where)?? :)
