Life can change in a moment

Always wear your seat belts
Have the best auto and health insurance possible
Don't let your spouse do all the driving
Keep up your driving and know your way around

Finances today aren't as simple as "taking over the checkbook"
Know where to go online. Know the passwords and know the pins.
Share the finance chores.

Have your power of attorney and financial power of attorney paperwork signed.
Plan for where your children might go and legalize it.
Talk about your medical wishes and write them down.

Know your neighbors.
Borrow a cup of sugar and return the favor with a plate of brownies and a chat.
Have dinner together. Join in the gardening.
Your neighborhood connections can become your safety net.

Stay for coffee after church. Join a book group. Knit with friends.
Build those deep relationships that become your local family.

Life can change in a moment,
but the moment can be made easier with some planning for the moment that should never come.

When my in-laws were in a massive car crash last month, they had done most of these things. My valentine's wish for each of my readers is to look over this list and start preparing for the moment which will hopefully never happen. Call a lawyer. Make a finance emergency file with photocopies of credit cards and lists of pins and passwords. Stop in at church. Join your neighbor in her garden. Begin.