Acts of Kindness When you're Sheltered In?

Hello @0616 I am Scott and I was my wife's caregiver for a long time. On the topic of small niceties, I can say nothing ever went unappreciated! One of the things I loved was hearing from old friends. An email, a call, text, or best a note in the mail! It often made a tough day turn rosy! This also rekindled some long dormant friendships and relationships with distant cousins who I had fallen out of touch with. I also had an old friend who would periodically clip articles from his newspaper on subjects I was interested and would send them to me. Those were delightful, tiny breaks in my day that were deeply appreciated!
Just a couple ideas....

Strength, courage, and peace....Scott

@0616, what a great question! I changed the title of this discussion to reflect the topic and your question. I also added it to the Aging Well group as well as the Just Want to Talk group. I can wait to see the tips members will offer. Here's a couple of mine:

- Taking part in an online support group like this one, Mayo Clinic Connect.
You'd be surprised how much good members do for other members with just a simple "I hear you." or "You're not alone." Sharing your experiences is an act of kindness

- Get hip a youngster and text.
As we age, our friend circle diminishes. But the young still need us. Text with a young member of the family or friend circle. Their responses may be short, but you'll give them the gift of a different perspective when they need it. (I'm sure they don't say "hip." Apparently in today's youth lingo hip = "sick")

I'm tagging @summertime4 and @texasduchess to keep the list going.

I thank you for taking the time to address my concerns. You sound like good, compassionate people. You suggest connecting with young people and that sounds good. However, since our son's divorce we no longer have contact with our grandchildren. It hurts so much and we feel so alone.

i'm so sorry to hear about the imposed separation from your grandchildren. Divorce can cause collateral damage. Is there any hope that this could be rectified or is it impossible?

This is very old school—you could phone other shut-ins and chat.

An unmarried friend has a circle of other unmarried friends who are each sheltering-in-place on their own. They decided to call/text each other every morning in turn to check that they're all okay; if one of them comes down with COVID-19, it might be awhile otherwise before anyone knows they're ill.

Hello, @0616. If you are online and read or view something which is so interesting that you want to share it, then do so. Try emailing or texting the article, the picture, the video to a friend, acquaintance, or colleague that you may have known in the past or that you are still keeping in touch with. Reach out. See who responds. You may be pleasantly surprised. If there is no response, don’t take it personally. Move on. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.

@0616- Welcome. Thank you for asking t his question. I have lived next to and shared a dead-end street with a couple and their children for 39 years. We have even taken down the fence that used to divide our properties. Except for certain things we actually have nothing in common but we help each other in a pinch. I can't tell you how many times we have gone on errands for each other, drives to the airport, hospital visits, taken care of pets, and borrowed sugar. We have left gifts after hospital stays on doorsteps, chicken soup for the flu, and picked up medicines. Almost none of these concerned being in contact with others. They are not small things, they touch people and shows caring.
Have you rented a movie and loved it so much that you shared it with a family member or friend?

I heard that a friend of mine, who lives alone, was feeling very down. She loves puzzles and she loves birds, so I sent her a Charlie Harper bird puzzle. Before the delivery date, I emailed her and told her to be on the alert for an Amazon parcel. She loved the puzzle and her grandkids did as well. My surprise said I"im thinking about you and care about you." She received the message loud and clear.

Great idea! Thank you for sharing your act of kindness.

A friend of mine sent me info on a group of elderly people in MT that has a pen pal program.