You know when something happens that makes you steady your breath to try to calm the panic, you take a couple of steps backward, your pulse beats so loudly you can hear it in your ears-- everything may end up fine, but for that moment, that instant, everything in your life is on pause, waiting for the words that everything is okay. You find yourself in tears with relief that it all worked out, but for those moments when you were afraid, your heart felt like it was in shambles—completely shattered. The situation was out of your control and that made it harder. So that night, you will hug your babies a little longer. You will stare at them in the monitors where they are safe, because out in this world, gosh, it can be scary out there. How will you be able to monitor them? These moments bring us back to the importance of human connection—appreciating each other because without each other we have nothing.

Because when something happens:

The fact that you have been feeling insecure about your body lately and don’t fit into your size four pre-pregnancy jeans doesn’t matter.

The fact that you got a flat the other day and were late for your daughter’s preschool drop off and you were feeling like a complete failure of a mom doesn’t matter.

The fact that you have been feeling like you aren’t successful enough compared to whoever you deem successful doesn’t matter.

All people will care about is the you, you are right now, at this moment. And that you, is more than enough. That you is loved. That you is someone’s son or daughter. That you is someone’s center of this universe.

If you are loved and have people that will take steps back for you when you are in turmoil—and you will do that for them--then you are doing okay. Because loving and being there for each other is what matters.

So the other night, when my littlest cried, I took her out of her crib and let her lay with me.

She placed her head on my chest, and I stroked the top of her head. I held her extra close. Because one day, she will be out in this world, in a situation I can’t fix right away, and I will only be able to guide her. I won’t be able to place a pacifier into her mouth, and stroke her head the way she likes it, making everything better. I will just have to sit and anxiously wait on the other end of the phone. I will have to trust that she will be okay, and it will be so hard because she is what matters most to me in this world.

We as humans, love each other. We need each other. And without each other, we are nothing, we have nothing, and there is really no point.

Now go cuddle your babies a little longer, tell your family, friends, anyone who makes up your core, you love them. Because they are what really matters. They mean everything.

This post originally appeared on the author's Facebook