Linda Paice writes:<\/p>\n
I thought of this as I was driving home just now and saw an old man walking slowly along the street, then he turned around and started shuffling the other way. I was worried he was confused and lost, so I pulled over and observed him.<\/p>\n
After a minute, it looked like he was just exercising as he was going up and down the block, but I wanted to make sure so I drove around to the other side of the road and through my window asked cheerfully if he was exercising. (Cheerfully as I didn\u2019t want to possibly make him feel strange about being checked on due to being old!)<\/p>\n
He instantly smiled a warm, friendly smile and walked straight over to my car and said yes he has a heart condition and the doctor said he has to exercise. We launched straight into a great chat, him asking if I live in the neighborhood, proudly pointing out his pretty house, me asking where he was from and that kind of thing. It was so sweet!<\/p>\n
As I drove away I was thinking of how he instantly engaged and went from looking somewhat forlorn to so bright and happy to be connecting. I\u2019ve seen this so many times with elderly people. It breaks my heart to think of how overlooked and neglected they can be within society. We\u2019re all busy and rushing about, it\u2019s easy to pass by without considering that, but many old people are desperately lonely.<\/p>\n
So, I thought I would post this should it inspire someone to reach out to an elderly stranger or an elderly person they know. Whether it\u2019s a longer visit or just a quick chat – sometimes, if there\u2019s no chance to stop, even eye contact and a warm smile visibly makes a world of difference.<\/p>\n
And to be clear, the joy is not one-sided! Old people are the best! So wise, such incredible experiences and stories, and those beautiful old school manners and values. They just melt my heart!<\/p>\n
So I\u2019m sending some love out to them!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Linda Paice writes: I thought of this as I was driving home just now and saw an old man walking slowly along the street, then he turned around and started shuffling the other way. I was worried he was confused and lost, so I pulled over and observed him. After a minute, it looked like … <\/p>\n