Caring for others

It is so important to stay connected with people, especially as we age. My dad always said, “As you make friends, be sure that you have friends who are younger than you as well as friends the same age or older.”

I have always enjoyed knowing older people. Even when I was a teenager, I loved visiting people who were in nursing homes. They often craved visitors and were so grateful to have someone who came in just to see them and visit.

At my church when I was a teenager, our youth group would go to visit people we called “shut-ins.” Some of them were in nursing homes (or convalescent homes), and some of them were people who lived at home but just could no longer get out and about. Sometimes I would go just by myself and visit people who I thought never got visitors.