Hi Everyone,
Well, with Thanksgiving weekend over, the Holidays are officially on us. The holidays are a time for joy, giving and family. But what do you do if you are isolated during this time?
As we get older, many of us have lost spouses, friends, even children. The holiday season, when we're supposed to feel joyous, often is just the opposite. We feel alone, isolated. We've lost the sense of community that is so vital to each and everyone of us.
We need to reach out, become involved either in our church, or local community. But how do you do that?
One way is to volunteer at your place of worship. There's a saying in the religious community that 10 percent of the congregation does the work for the 90. Well, become part of the 10 percent. Churches always need people to help with anything from welcoming people as they come to services, to cleaning up afterwards.
If you have physical limitations, maybe you can help in the nursery rocking a fussy baby, or reading to toddlers. Gentlemen, how about you? Babies aren't your thing, I get it. But you can still read a book to the youngsters. Even if you have to sit, you can greet people when they arrive. A smile and a "Glad to see you here today" can do wonders especially for someone new.
Maybe you're not a church goer. Okay. How about volunteering at the local elementry school or library? Reading to children gives you as much as it gives to them. With many schools and libraries cutting back services, they are always looking for help. If you have transportation problems maybe someone can car pool with others. Maybe you're more active. How about trying to start a gardening program at the local school as an after school project? It might be hard to get something like this going, but afterschool programs are some of the first things to go with cutbacks, and are missed the most with so many latch key kids these days.
What if you're confined to a home or convalscent hospital. Here's some food for thought. Many high schools require that students preform community service hours to graduate. See if you can get arrangements made for students to volunteer where you live. High schoolers can be a challenge. If they come there thinking they're helping you, it might give you a chance to help them in return and develop relationships.
Remember visiting you grandma or grandpa when you were a kid? Wtih so many divorces and families separated by long distances, kids often lose out on having that relationship with a grandparent. It's a special relationship.
There are also youth organizations that need help. Boy scouts, girl scouts, Naval Sea Cadets, Young Marines, Civil Air Patrol. Gentlemen, and ladies, if you've had military experience, Sea Cadets, Young Marines and Civil Air Patrol always need volunteers who have a military background. Share your knowledge, your experiences. Let these kids have the benefit of all you're learned.
Use your imagination. What do you love? What is your passion? Do you like history, gardening, movies, crocheting, books, puzzles, politics, whatever. There are clubs and organizations for just about anything you could be interested in. Even if you are homebound, you must have internet access or you couldn't be reading this blog. There are online sites for any interest you can think of. Get involved there if you can't manage some face to face relationships. Most sites have forums that are designed to develop community. Get involved.
Remember, what you do matters. No one is going to beat down your door to get involved with you. You have to do the reaching out, and in that reaching out you will help yourself and... help someone else in the process.
Just some food for thought. Feel free to contact me with any comments either through the comment section on the blog or via email at team_effort@att.net. I look forward to hearing from you.
Well, got to run. See you next time. Until then, keep prepping because what you do matters, and remember, "Just 'cause there's snow on the rooftop, doesn't mean there ain't a fire in the fireplace."
No comments:
Post a Comment