Valentine's Day is coming!
It’s that time of year when we focus on love.
For many folks, that means romantic love. The truth is, we romance writers and readers
focus on that the whole year through.
But romantic love isn’t a part of many lives. Love is bigger than that.
So how about the other kinds of love in our lives? We love our families, our friends, our
neighbors, our pets. Sometimes those
connections come biologically, like our children, our grandchildren, our parents, our
siblings. But sometimes, the love in our
hearts explodes in other directions. We
have adopted children, rescued pets, embraced in laws. It’s all good, and a
good reason to celebrate Valentine’s Day, with that focus on love.
But I’ve seen, over the years, that there are so many in our
society who are not so blessed. They are alone.
Retirement homes and nursing homes are filled with elderly individuals
who face severe loneliness every day. While
some residents have family who visit and honor them, many do not.
Their lives may have been filled with love in earlier times,
before they were widowed or outlived their relatives and friends. What can we do about this?
A random visit to a nursing home can show the path. “Adopting
a grandparent” is as easy as stopping by to share a cup of tea, or to drop off flowers
to a lonely resident. Hearing the stories of their earlier lives is a gift for both the sharer and the listener. It changes lives. I
highly recommend it.
A famous early psychologist, Alfred Adler, was a strong
voice in defining individual growth and mental health in the early 1900’s. He stated that he had never met a truly mentally
healthy person who did not take part in some kind of ‘service’ or caring for others. I think he had a good
point.
Valentine’s Day is a good time to think about that. Many of our elderly can use a hug. If you have love to share, maybe you can drop
by a nursing home and give out some Valentine cards, or a bouquet or two. Love is a
powerful, healing emotion!
How do you show love to the folks in your life? I’d love to
hear! And Happy Valentine's Day!
Christine Bush is a USA Today Bestselling author of romance, romantic
mystery, and suspense. She can be found
living in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania with her husband and 2 lazy cats,
and spending time with her 14 grandchildren.
When she’s not writing, she’s teaching Psychology at a local college,
and working with clients in her private practice as a Marriage and Family
Therapist. She loves to hear from readers and writers!
Christine's “Sunny Smile” is a sweet
romantic mystery set on the Navajo reservation!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Bush-Author/213919128638762
http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Bush/e/B001KHSLRG/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1392688497&sr=1-2-ent
http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Bush/e/B001KHSLRG/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1392688497&sr=1-2-ent
Christine, what great ideas. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Merrillee! Happy Valentine's day!
DeleteGreat idea, Christine. I keep in touch and tell them I love them.
ReplyDeleteSo important, Margaret!
DeleteI love this post! My mom is in a retirement community and I call every day as well as visit or take her out at least once a week and she's still bored. It would be so great if people who didn't have family (or local family) could all be "adopted" by someone who could visit and give them some attention!
ReplyDeleteNice! My granddaughters school made a whole stack of homemade Valentines bags, and delivered them to a local retirement home. A big hit! So sweet to share the love!
DeleteThank you for the great ideas, Christine!
ReplyDeleteThanks Magdalena! Happy Valentine's day!
Delete