Hand holding is not just for babies.  We hold our parents' hands when we are first learning to walk and then later to cross the street.  Hand holding continues with best friends in elementary school and when we have our first date.  Later in life we hold the hands of the one we cherish to express our love.  I can't remember how old I was when I thought I was too old to hold my mother's hand, but I know many years later, when she lay dying, I held it all the time. And I am touched by tenderness when I see an elderly couple holding hands and strolling our sidewalks.

It struck me the other day that there are times when we "symbolically" hold someone's hand.  For example, when we have first time home buyers who are nervous about the process and the enormity of what they are about to do.  We hold their hands through the transaction.  Or when experienced escrow officers and lenders help us to maneuver the paperwork and close our deals, they are holding our hand.  And when we deliver the keys to our clients we are holding in our hand their new beginning.

Recently I have come to realize that ActiveRain is holding my hand, in fact all of our hands, to help us navigate the incredible social media maze that surrounds us.  I am grateful for the hands of all the ActiveRain contributors because they have led me to places I would never have found without them.  I feel secure and confident that they will lead me to my destination and upon arriving, will release my hand.  For it is then, that I can offer my hand to help others find their way...

Susan Laxson - Laxson Associates

A special thanks for the use of the photo of newborn Maya holding the hand of her Father, a Florida Realtor I found on Facebook.   May they always share that special bond.