"Family members develop ritualized ways of saying good-bye when they leave each other to go to work or school, and of saying hello when they greet each other again after being apart. Such rituals of leaving and returning mark the boundary between home and the outside world, provide a bridge between life inside the family and life outside the family, and work to tell family members who they are to each other.
"Such rituals of leaving and returning may be very satisfying to family members, providing a sense of care and concern. Often such rituals are very short and simple — a hug good-bye, an after-school snack, a repeated phrase with special meaning only within the family. For instance, in Evan's family, her husband, Lascelles, always parts from her by saying, 'Walk good' and in that unique and repeated phrase captures all of his wishes for her to have a good day, to be careful, to stay well."
