When you are lonely,why not try something different? Volunteer.

hi littleowl it is the same thing, I remember once when I and my hubby helped this family out who had lost their apartment and the church had found them new quarters. we used our own pickup and my hubby and I moved their stuff in for them and it was so fulfilling as they were now once more in an apartment with their two little kids. We got paid by their smiles and their laughter and it was really so great.

That was lovely of you Hatley, and can imagine the joy of the family having somewhere to live...it must of been a great blessing....hugs LoLo

yes we became friends with them and I felt so sad when the husband got a real good job and they moved away. I missed
them, specially the little kids.

hi dragon54u Meals on Wheels is so great,when my husband was waylaid with a colostomy they brought hot meals to him while'
I was at work so I did not have to worry a bout him, and he
'was fed hot good meals too. I know the lAdy that brought them
'was always smiling andseemed to love what she did.

Sending card and all at church is a really great thing to do. Encouraging other is a gift. The world needs more people who encourage others. Getting ripped for being bipolar certainly isn't encouraging. I do know a woman who is bipolar who really went through some difficult times. She did get help and last time I saw her she was in the paper starting a volunteer organization of her own. Their goal was to help people with a variety of problems get the help that is available through government programs but because of bureaucracy usually doesn't get delivered to the people who actually need the help.

hi ambiepam that was so unkind of them. I have a lot of friends who are bipolar and I would never have known it had they not
told me.one is one of the smartest guys I know too.NO you are
in no condition to do that now Ambie Pam I am sure you have more
than done your bit over the years.But what you are doing doing now in the church seems really great to me,encouraging people is really very helpful. My roommate here just had back surgery about a month ago. she is doing fine now but still has some pain. I think she sort of overdoes things a bit.

hi philbo thanks I just know that it can be so rewarding'
and a lot of people have actually been turned onto going'into'nursing after having volunteered in a'
hospital. You just never know what you might learn
or find when volunteering.

hi hornswaggled you are so right, we might think we have it
'bad, but others have it a lot worse. and volunteering sometimes
lets people see beyond themselves, and garner compassion for
other people. they cannot be lonely when busy helping someone
else.

Isn't that the truth? I think in our society that we tend to think of only ourselves....our problems. I wish more were like you; people that do think of others. I can tell you've had a hard time; sometime in your life. Your insight tells me that you have done without....that you've had a hard bit in your life to be able to see this in others.
I commend you for being a survivor of this thing you've had to live through....as one survivor to another I think we are both gonna be ok! And I might add....I'm glad that I know you!

thanks so much hornswaggled I am glad to know you too
and we can always find others so much worse off than
ourselves. even right here in Gold Crest,people who'can
neve walk again but are smiling and full of vim and
vigor, living life fully while in a wheelchair for'
life. this one man plays a wonderful guitar and writes'
some really great music,yet he cannot walk more than
two steps. I am so lucky I can walk not fast but I
can walk and am in sound mind.

Me too....sometimes I have a little trouble getting around myself!
I'm working on it though. I am going to be trying some herb things for joints that has done wonders on my herbal teachers husband. Hopefully it'll give me less trouble getting around!

hi hornswaggled I am about to go that way too. my tramadol the last couple of days just does not quite stop all the pain
and I really want to be more active. I know there are good
herbs and some that are not so good,just knowing which ones
might make the difference.

hi tamara I used to work out of a nurses registry as a nurse's aide and I found that most all of the elderly people in those'homes were so lonely, and some of them were only there
because their family could not both work and care for them too.
I always tried to take time out to just talk for a short while
and they always appreciated it, and would give me big smiles.One of the nurses told me she wished the registry would send more aides like me so they could brighten up more of the old folks days. I felt more rewarded by their smiles and grabbing my hands than from my small paycheck. it was a real find for me.

hi kmaram I am sure you do do the best you can, and my heart and prayers go out to you and all the p eople in the disaster area. I have a lot of filipino friends on my mylot list, and have been so worried for them and their families. wish I had money or goods to send but alas I do not. nothing but my prayers if that will help any.I also salute all the volunteers there and wish them all 'well.

yes victory999 what goes around comes around.if you do good
for others,it will always come back as good for you too.
It pays in ways that money cannot and you lose any sense
of loneliness as you are thinking and doing for others.

I have often said if you think you're in bad shape, visit one of the nursing homes here in town and you will see people in a lot worse shape than you are.

As for the therapeutic riding center, what we do out there is teach children with disabilities and some who don't have disabilities how to ride horseback. It is so worth it to see a child's face light up whenever they get on a horse. I started a discussion about this several months ago. Kathy.

hi cyrus I have read about that somewhere and at the time
I thought what a great idea as almost all kids love
horses and to learn to ride, and its all therapeutic,what could be better than that.

you know about a year or so ago I saw some thing on television about that and at the time I thought it was in your area too.
I know at that time I had thought most kids love horses so that
would really be a neat way of therapy. fun too. sorry I called you he the other day seeing you name is Kathy.sort of dumb of me. he he.

It could have been in my area. You never know. The name of the riding center where I volunteer is "EASI", which stands for Equines Assisting Special Individuals. It opened in 2006. Kathy.

I have known several young women who got turned on to
nursing because they had volunteered to work with
patients in the hospital, passing out magazines and
fetching sodas and snacks for the patients. they all
said that they were so glad that they had volunteered.

Not only women even men are there who enjoys helping others. For them it is just a way of life. A very healthy hobby indeed. It is because of these people we are still living in a world of humans. Let us all take a leaf from such people's life.

hi meapas I always love it when I see men volunteering. one of the best nurses aides I met when I was last ill in the hospital
was a young man who had a rich sense of humor. I was really quite ill and feeling a bit down but he would come in and say something and I would be laughing my head off. He would grin and say,
you're funny. what a lad.