(Above Dorothy Hoft and her first child, Lynne)The People We Love and the Country We Leave ThemBy Linda S. BrickmanToday I read Jim Hoft’s tribute to his sister Lynne.And one sentence stayed with me: “My older sister was proud of me.”Jim remembered the sister who welcomed him into her home in Tuba City, Arizona, when he was young and needed help. He wrote about differences that had put distance between them, and the closeness they later found again. Beneath the public life and political disagreements was a brother who loved his sister. This week, he lost her.To Jim, Joe, and the entire Hoft family: Please accept my heartfelt condolences on Lynne’s passing. May God comfort you in the quiet hours when her absence is hardest to bear. May the memories you share bring you warmth, and may you find strength in one another as you grieve. Grieving Is Such Quiet Sorrow…A loss like this makes me think about the people we keep meaning to call. The sister whose familiar voice we expect to hear again. The friend whose message we put aside because the afternoon got busy. We go about our days with so much left to say, assuming there will be another opportunity.And sometimes there isn’t…So, please tell your loved ones that you love them. Tell your extended family, too. Say it on an ordinary afternoon, when nobody is leaving for a long journey and there is no special occasion. Let them hear it while they can still answer you.“I Love You More Today Than Yesterday, But Not as Much as Tomorrow.”What a beautiful thing to give someone to carry through the day.Jim’s account of finding his way back to his sister also reminds me that an estranged relationship may still have a future. If there is someone you hope to reconnect with, perhaps today is the day to reach out. We cannot know how a conversation will go. But we can always make room for one.That same care for the people we love also gives me a reason to care deeply about our Country, and why we must vote to preserve it.THIS IS OUR COUNTRY. We live here with its blessings and its troubles. Our children will make their lives here. The neighbors we wave to, the families we pray for, and the people we will never meet all need a Nation where they can live securely; and build a future.I love God, and I love America. My faith calls me to consider how I treat people, especially when I am angry or afraid. My love for this Country calls me to take responsibility for the part of its future I can influence.Both Deserve More Than a Place in Something I Write.They Deserve a Place in How I Live.There is enough political noise to fill every hour we have. We can become so absorbed in the latest insult that we lose sight of the lives behind the issues. A school-board decision reaches a child in a classroom. A question about public safety reaches a family coming home at night. Decisions made by people we elect become part of our daily lives.That is why I keep asking you to VOTE!So, when you sit down with your ballot:THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE whose lives you hope will be better because you took the time.READ THE CHOICES before you.BRING YOUR CONSCIENCE and YOUR CONVICTIONS to the task.Then FOLLOW THROUGH and CAST THAT BALLOT.Our voices belong in the decisions that shape our communities. Voting is one of the the ways we use them. It is a practical act of care for the country we share and for the generations who will inherit it.I want our children and grandchildren to know that we cared enough to participate. When they ask what we did with the responsibilities handed to us, I want us to have an answer.Tonight, call someone you love. You do not need a perfect speech. Tell them they matter to you. Listen to their voice. Give that conversation the time it deserves, and…Help them make their plan TO VOTE.And make your own plan TO VOTE, too.To the Hoft family, my prayers are with you. Your love for Lynne, and hers for you, came through in Jim’s words. Thank you for sharing a little of her life with us.May we remember to express our love for others, while it can still be heard; and to care for Our Country while its Future is Ours to Help Shape.Together… We Will Be Heard!By Linda S. Brickman©2026 Linda Brickman All Rights Reserved.The post The People We Love and the Country We Leave Them With appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.