Take Care,

I was typing an email to a friend the other day and I paused at the end, trying to decide what I wanted to put as my saluation before typing my name at the end of the message. It was someone I don't correspond with more the a few times a year, so I wanted to make sure I said something that got my heartfelt feelings across. I decided "Take Care" would be appropriate. This is the salutation I like to use when I don't want to use the standard "sincerely" or "very truly yours." To me, they have been so overused that they have become a formality. For some reason, I got to thinking about those two words "Take Care". Lately, I find myself worrying about the world we are living in. People are so busy that no one seems to be "taking care." I also worry about the economy and how it's effecting the people of our country. People are losing their jobs, losing their homes, losing their families and even their pets because of these financially difficult and unpredictable times. I got to thinking, what can I do to help? What can we do to help? And it was in this moment that those two words "Take Care" came to the front of my mind. What we can do and what we need to do is to "TAKE CARE". Take care of ourselves and take care of each other. If we all reached out to help someone, whether it's a family member, a friend, a stranger, a child, or even an animal, we could make it through these tough times a little easier, sharing the burdens with each other. If we all carried a little more of the load, it wouldn't be so hard for those whose loads have become too heavy for them to bear. As a parent, I always try to remind myself that it's easy to be a good parent when your kids are doing well, but if your a good parent when your kids are not doing well - that's when it counts. That is when you will know if you are a good parent or not! By the same token, it's easy to be a good husband/wife, brother/sister, neighbor/friend, employee/employer...when everything is going well. It's who you are when things get tough that really matters. Well these are the toughest times I've seen in my 40 years and I am very concerned for us all. We need to take action. We need to look beyond ourselves and see the need of others around us. Look and really See! If we all reach out and do just a little more than our share, maybe it will be enough. Now is the time to make a difference. Now is the time to be that change. My hope is that we will all take action and TAKE CARE! No act is too small. Take Care, please, take care...It's our only hope. Two words say it all.