Check on your friends

[CallieO]

I almost never make New Year's Resolutions, after years in my late teens and early-20s, of not being able to keep them. Try to get better grades in school, or lose weight, or exercise more.

But something happened recently that made me decide that my New Year's Resolution for 2022 will be to not let a single week go by without letting my friends and loved ones know how important they are to me.

I maintain a growing Christmas and birthday card list of about 30 people around the world. Some are family members and members of my landlord's family; some are church friends or former church friends. And about half of them are people within TLI.

Now, I'm not gonna give those addresses out. Get'cha own dang list. What struck me as odd and sad is that when two of those people, so far, received a Christmas card from me, they said it was the only card they got this year, and the only card they've gotten, from anybody, in several years.

And I get it; not everyone is a card-giving or card-getting kinda person. But that filled me with great sadness.

Check on your friends. Especially during the holiday season. Some of them have lost friends and loved ones recently. Let them know how much they're loved and appreciated. I'd rather spend three hours listening to your story than one hour attending your funeral.

And in these days, darkness falls early
And people rush home to the ones they love
You'd better take a fool's advice and take care of your own
One day they're here, next day they're gone
--Don Henley, "New York Minute"