The commercial began with around five men in wheel chairs playing an intense game of basket ball. It was so intense that I jumped when one of the players accidentally fell over yikes. However by the time I said yikes the men got up from the chairs walking with the exception of one guy. Wow...Dedication, loyalty, friendship; these were the words that were read during the game.

The next part of the advertisement showed the men having a drink (guinness) at a bar with their wheelchair friend and it made me smile. No not the Guinness, I have no idea what it tastes like but i know what it is like to make sacrifices for people so that they fit in and do not feel odd or left out.

I remember the days back in highschool when things were rough for some parents therefore some of the girls in my group either did not get enough monies or what they got was not enough to make any significant purchase at lunch time and as teens it could not have been a good feeling. So I came up with an idea; before lunch time we would pool all our monies together, all except bus fares and then decided what foods we could afford based on the collection.

At lunch time we would make the purchases then gather in a circle and we all ate from each food in the circle. A pinch of this or that, took a bite if this; and what this did was that no one out side the group knew who contributed to what or how much. It did not result in a belly full as by the time school was dismissed we were hungry and heading home to mamas cooking; but what it did was ensure that everyone had something to eat while learning, no stigma was attached, persons looked forward to coming to school with or without lunch monies and most of all it created a bond. A lifetime bond that has never been broken. To date as adults even to go out and hang (we wish we could more often) we are still counting the monies and then say okay let's have dinner here or a drink there, okay you don't have it but come out we will take care of your bill. Oh boy this bond is something else.

In your ever day hustling and bustling try and identify persons who you can do simple things for to let them know " hey regardless of your setbacks, disability or challenges YOU MATTER. Sometimes just knowing you matter makes the difference between giving up and trying again. Thanks for reading another of my blogs and from my heart I want you to know that YOU MATTER.