This week, I had the good fortune of sitting next to two lovely older women at an all-day wrestling tournament. I don’t think I’ve ever met closer sisters. They finished each other’s stories and their shared glances might as well have been a secret code of understanding between them.  They truly loved each other.  When they told me about the last year they had, I learn just how much.

The older sister had an only child who died of cancer last year. She was a young single mother with four children.  Though this older sister was the grandmother, her poor health prevented her from taking the children.  The younger sister stepped in and brought the four children into her home, so her older sister wouldn’t lose her Grandchildren to foster care.

It was an amazing story of sacrifice and love. Showing me once again how important our families really are, like a safety net for all the bad in the world.  When the bad comes knocking on your door, if you’ve kept your family ties strong, there will always be somebody you can turn to for help.