Love You

People talk about a life changing event that makes them realize how precious and tenuous life really is. It seems to take something big and usually awful (illness, death, accidents) to slap us up the side of the head and remember what really matters. Sad but true. Rushing through our daily lives, trying to just make it another day with all the demands and pressures, we don't stop and appreciate what we have.
I just finished reading a book (true story) about a man who lost his 38 year old daughter and how devastating this was for him and his entire family. He experienced many things from his grief, but one thing he decided was that he wanted to start ending all his phone calls to his family, and even some friends, with "Love you." This may seem like a small thing, but it got me thinking. My daughter and I talk on the phone many times throughout the day. I noticed that she almost always ends our calls with, "Love you." Before, my response ranged from, "Talk to you later." to "Love you." Now I make sure I say it. I am trying to end my calls with all my family by saying it. I'd like to move on to friends, but part of me wonders how it will be received. They are precious and close friends who matter greatly in my life. What if something happened to them and I recall that the last conversation I had with them ended in, "Talk to you later."? We know we all love each other; we just don't say it much. We assume there will always be another time to be together, another phone conversation, another time to say it. And there's the catch - life is tenuous and nothing is guaranteed. I better get in all the "Love yous" that I can. I challenged you to do the same.
Love you,