I sit alone. I wonder if my family will visit me soon… or not. Twilight is here… on another day, and on a life lived. I hear only my whisper.
Then…
a handwritten letter arrives.
Encouraging. Thoughtful. Uplifting. Beautiful.
I try to imagine the author. Leaning over a table, pen in hand, writing my name, thinking about who I might be. Thinking about … me!
My heart beats stronger. Wrinkles near my eyes fold closed as I grin. In this moment… I matter. This moment! Not the past I recall, or the question of a future… this moment.
I read the letter again… and then sit, warmly appreciating a new friend.
I’ve wondered about how my life will wind down. I’m not afraid of dying, but I am afraid of loneliness. Belonging fuels me more than any meal. Connection strengthens me more than any exercise. I don’t need to be validated… just seen. I’m pretty sure others share my fear. And, I’m pretty sure some are living it.
Yet today, I found hope… sitting next to me in a coffee shop.
On this Wednesday before Thanksgiving, a group of young women enjoyed several hours together, writing heart-warming cards to residents of a local retirement community. It was pretty cool to see.
Their act of caring and connection tells me we are gonna be o.k. These members of HOSA- Future Health Professionals will be the ones caring for us in years to come, and they started today… during a holiday break from Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup, WA.
We’re in good hands.
I love the power of words… and of intentional living. These awesome young women bring both to life… and so can we… all of us.
Keep caring, and keep Believing in Better!
believe in better. NOW! 
As the former advisor of this club and these young women I could not be more proud of them and encouraged by them. I appreciate that they take time to care for others and that you noticed them and took time to write about them. They truly are our future –
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It was hard to “not notice” them!
Thanks for sharing your time as an advisor… giving just enough structure for them to do their thing. Really cool.
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Hope is all around us. We all make choices in what we see.
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Hugh, I wish I could write with your clarity.
As I pause in my reply, I’ll add — We all make choices in what we do.
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