Showing Up

Okay, I remembered to join the volunteer conference call I was supposed to be on. Well, actually, I remembered 20 minutes late and 10 minutes before it was over, but who's counting, right? I participated. Well, actually, I pretty much just listened. Except when I said "Hello." And "Goodbye." But I was, well, at least sort of there. I showed up.
 
Thanks to technology, "showing up" has taken on a whole new meaning. There's no way I could have gone to a real people around a table, get home at 9:00 meeting, but a phone call I could handle, even if I said virtually nothing. So, I showed up.
 
I wonder, is "showing up," even by conference call, really half the battle? What good did it do for me to call in essentially just to listen?
 
Showing up, whether in person or by phone, means that the outcome matters to you. It means that you care enough to support people, and that you are there to take on necessary tasks or offer opinions. While showing up might not get the job done, it is certainly a step in the right direction, and if you take enough steps, you do eventually get where you're doing.
 
Tonight, I showed up, while being in the middle of "showing up" when my kids needed help with homework and Halloween.
 
I showed up, and perhaps that will make all the difference.