Hold Your Loved Ones Close

There is a litany that runs through my mind of loved ones lost, ones that were dear to my heart that are gone now. I find myself thinking of them when there is something that happens that brings up a memory.

These reminders don't come every day, but they come often. In simple words and stories that I see online, when someone mentions a $2 bill, or when I think about vegan food, shooting pool, pirates, or going somewhere in costume. There are other odd reminders. Old pictures. Certain smells. Movies that I watch.

People touch our hearts in so many ways, and there are certain things about them that become embedded so deeply in our minds that time can't wash them away, no matter how many years it has been.

Hold your loved ones close

There are people in our lives now who are just as dear as the ones that we have lost. Yet, we don't always make enough time for the people who are in our lives now.

So, it is important to make time for the people that you love. Whether it is posting on their social media stories, or reaching out and making a phone call or an appointment to get together.

The older we are, the more we need to schedule our lives.

When people are important to us, we need to make time for them. We can reach out when we think of someone, or something reminds us of them. You can easily call or send a text message. This way, they know that they were on our minds.

Since I have moved to Germany, I have been trying to keep in contact with my friends back home, with regular messages and calls. The time difference makes me more mindful of when it is OK to call, and I make sure to reach out often.

Even when people are in the same town, we need to reach out more. We need to make time for the people that we love and who are important to us.

We lost a friend much too young this year. It makes me realize the importance of devoting time to people who matter to us while they are still here. The importance of staying in regular contact with people in our lives, no matter how busy that we may be.

If you can, try to have a coffee with someone, try to take some time for a video chat or a call. Send a text message or reach out on social media.

The more you can stay in contact with people that we care about, the more rich our experience of life will be. It really is the people in our lives that enrich our experience and helps us make memories that we will carry with us forever.

I hope that you take time this week to reach out to someone in your life and let them know how much that they mean to you. Hold your loved ones close and show them that they really do matter to you each and every time that you think of them.