Another way you can take care of the “we,” in your life is to go out of your way to do something nice for those closest to you.

In my first “we” post I listed who I considered to be part of my close circle (those who I consider to be the “we” in my life).  Remember:

1. My spouse or beloved
2. My children
3. My extended family (Parents, Brothers and Sisters)
4. Coworkers
5. Neighbors (on my street)
6. Close Friends

So, for these people you can do any of these things:

1. Wash the dishes for them (I was thinking of my wife and kids on this one.  It might be a little strange to walk up to your neighbor’s door and offer to wash their dishes).
2. Mow the lawn for them
3. [Offer to] watch the/their children while they take care of errands, shop, or go to the spa.
4. Teach them about philosophy (or just plain right or wrong…like your kids).
5. Ask them, “How are you doing?”  and really mean it.  Wait for an answer. Just listen.
6. Offer your professional services at a discount or for free (accountant, tax prep, personal training, electrician or whatever you may be good at/certified to do).
7. Let them know about opportunities that they might be interested in.  Of course, you would have to know them fairly well to have a good idea if it would be right for them.
8. Help them with an annual household chore: cleaning gutters, changing air filters, raking leaves, removing a stump, changing oil.
9. Talk with them, be friendly, make the effort to connect without being nosy or pushy.
10. For your coworkers, help them with a work project when they need it.
11. Always be tactfully honest with them.  (An example of not being tactful is if a coworker is having a “bad hair day” and you say, “Oh my gosh, your hair looks terrible!”  Depending on your closeness to the individual this might be OK, right?)

Just a few suggestions for looking after “us.”  Of course some of these are more or less appropriate based on the situation.