Make the Effort to Make a Connection

She’s trapped, alone, and scared. Isolated by COVID, she has not seen family members for almost five months. They bring her meals and keep everyone separated.

He lives alone, having been widowed just over a year ago. Though his family is large, the pandemic keeps most of them away.

A young couple lives their life together but limits social interaction. For the sake of the newborn in their home, they avoid any extra socialization.

The young 20-something moved out on her own almost 18 months ago. But apartment life is lonely with neighbors avoiding contact and faces hidden behind masks.

The preteen is not happy (well, that’s kind of normal though). No school, no interaction outside their own siblings, no socialization.

These cases are not isolated ones. And though I live in a rural setting, the pandemic culture, which hit city life harshly, has impacted every corner of our society.

Today’s blog is just an appeal to reach out and connect with someone, or someones. Here are some of my ideas. What ideas do you have?

• Send mail, real mail. My mother, the isolated retirement home trapped resident, loves cards and letters. She reads them over and over.
• Call someone. It doesn’t need to be long. Spend a few minutes on the phone. Pray over the airwaves (or phone lines if you still have those).
• Start a group short story. You write one page, send it to the next person to write next page, and so on. See where it takes you.
• Print out pictures, make a montage and send it to a friend through mail or drop off at their doorstep. Even by email or DM (direct message). I love emails sent to me that were not prompted by companies that spy on me through Google.
• Make cookies for your neighbor and surprise them. Or if you live around here, it’s garden harvest time so people are sharing green beans and zucchini. Not quite chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, but I feel the love.
• Use virtual connections and social media with intention. Not just posting a news article (too much of that) and not just clicking thumbs up or shocked emoji face. Interact, write positive comments, let people know you’re really paying attention. And please, not these “if you agree, copy and paste and pass this on.” Make some effort for personal interaction.
• Have exercise or hobby challenges. Partner with someone on bike riding or treadmill. We have a stationary bike, challenge another person to a distance race and keep tabs on progress. Like, who goes further in a week on just 30 minutes a day. Nature lover? See who can post more pics of different types of flowers.
• For families, treasure hunt photo challenges can start back like the safari ones that were done early during COVID.
• Book Clubs. Read the same book as someone else and discuss over the phone or by group discussion. Remember those discussion boards you dreaded in college? Maybe there was something to them. This could be great for kids too.
• Put on an Art Show. Think of displaying your kids art in your window, on your front door, car window. Apartment dwellers? Have photos on your door and invite your neighbors (through sticky note invites on their doors) to post vacay shots or kids’ work on their doors. Do it at your church

These are just thoughts. Or maybe you could start a blog so you don’t go crazy. That’s what I did.

Whatever you decide to do, don’t put it off. Connect with someone today.