Service without Human Contact

D'you suppose going to the dentist, opening my mouth, allowing the picks and brushes, and even the jaw-widening x-rays to intrude, counts as an act of service?

Following this early-morning visit with the dental hygienist, I went looking for a small act of service to perform today. Small, because I have many concerns and preparations of my own to deal with today. Books and materials to gather, gifts for a niece. Piano books for my sister. Black suede furry slippers for the son who moved to Arizona in the hot summer. Slippers left behind, unneeded in the heat. I'm really sending him a little bit of home. I'm wishing him home. Car to pack.

Amazing pumpkin cheesecake to create. Celebrating a 75th birthday for a mother who we weren't sure would see her 45th. Cancer, long ago, and beaten. Pumpkin cheesecake better be amazing, outstanding.

Oh so tempting today, just for today, to focus inward, to my own extended family. So, a tiny act of service; fulfill the obligation. A quick drop-off at the Food Bank, and the Busy Hands volunteers there. Some cloth, a bit of ribbon. Small offerings. And a mistake, for the Food Bank. Labels ordered to organize my own well-stocked pantry that can feed us for weeks. Labels I hope will fit the shelves of the Food Bank. Quick drop-off, never communicating with another human, even. Something is missing then.

A new rule:  An act of service must involve contact with another human being.