Carolyn

My new found friend's name is Carolyn....a few days after our cartoon discussion, I had lunch with her..she bought a piece of my bacon-cheeseburger pizza around noon and it was still sitting in front of her when I took my break around 12:2o. She was sitting by herself in a booth as though waiting for someone to come along and join her for lunch. When I sat down at her booth, her eyes lit up and she said " I was thinking about inviting you to lunch!" I said "You don't have to invite me, I'll just invite myself!" She laughed and it wasn't long before one of my co-workers from a neighboring department joined us, along with another lady who has a friend that works in the bakery and waits for him to get off work almost every day. I can tell this lady was really enjoying our company and I introduced her to everyone. I asked her about the Veggie Tales cds and she said she was going to give them to a little girl that lived close to her apartment...but she offered to loan them to me first. I told her to go ahead and give them to the little girl, that she would enjoy them much more than I would. We all had a good time joking with her and it was good to see her so cheerful. After my break was over, I got to thinking of how much it must have made a difference to her to have someone share a meal with her and it really made me feel good that the time we spent with her probably made her day! From now on, I will make it a point to sit with her whenever I can. I would guess that many elderly folks suffer from just plain old loneliness...they may not have family that live close to them...some have no-one simply because many of their friends have already passed away.. some don't drive and are restricted to only being able to get within walking distance of where they live! I know Carolyn doesn't drive and she doesn't walk all that fast either! Winters can be a challenge for the elderly too. Often, they are afraid to leave their homes simply because they are afraid of falling on the snow and ice and they don't take to the cold very well either! So, if you know anyone who is elderly and needs a friend or a little help getting around, take a little time out and give them a hand, a kind word, and see if there's anything you can do to make their day a little brighter!