When I was growing up as a child, I had a very unique childhood. While I did many of the things that others my age did as far as school and extracurricular activities go, a good portion of my free time was spent with my grandmother. Because she was so involved in visiting and taking care of seniors in our community, that meant that I too got to see first hand the importance of being involved with those that society often seems to forget.

When you have a compassion for the elderly population instilled in you early on, the need to take care of them and understand their struggles becomes inherent. Unfortunately, as we age the ability to get noticed and attended to decreases. The focus is on the young and the new infants entering into the world, while seniors tend to take a back seat to what is going on in life. Nowhere is that more evident than when you visit a nursing home.

My early visits to my grandmother were eye opening experiences. With each step down the hall, face after face had its own story to tell. From expressions of elation for having seen someone different from “the outside”, to faces of despair and loneliness that just made your heart hurt. I knew behind each of these faces was a history rich in knowledge and I wondered what it was that brought them to this moment in their lives?

I knew early on in my visits that there had to be something that could be done to ease the loneliness. What I didn’t realize was just how great the need was. Every package we send out in the mail reminds another senior that they are remembered and loved. However, with each package I am also reminded of all the ones that we can’t get to that are in need just as much. Maybe that is why I push so hard to increase our card deliveries year over year. I do it in hopes that if two out of 100 are getting that reminder on that day, when they are in despair the most, then that makes it all worth it.

It is odd to me that as a society we tend to spend the least money on schools and the elderly. The very areas that are preparing our younger generations to support those who have fulfilled their lives and the older generations that have paid their dues and deserve our support. It is almost as if they are too young to care and too old to care. We seem to forget that there isn’t a single one of us who doesn’t go through all those stages, if we are fortunate to live a full life.

If you have a senior in your life that you have been meaning to reach out to, do it today. Remind them that they matter, that they are loved and that they are remembered. If you have a senior that you are in regular contact with, never let them forget what they mean to you. Someday it’s going to be our turn and we will wish the same for ourselves.

Mornings with Ron is also available as a podcast at anchor.fm/morningswithron or on iHeartRadio, Apple or Google Podcast, Spotify or most podcast sites.