Challenges arise in lives, and those lives intersect with one’s own. Peace can get nicked around the edges and knock one a bit off-balance when blind-sided by the imbalances of another. The doubt starts to creep in: Was I kind? Was a good enough parent? Have I been a positive model for others?

A little spoonful of acknowledgment can provide much consolation. To hear that my homegrown platitude, “No unnecessary risks,” was heard and incorporated into the life of someone I dearly love, priceless.