AARP, Creating a Caring Community

This past week, my son SJ proclaimed he needed someone to shag baseballs for him. I'm not sure what that means, but his father Sean, happily agreed to go along on this outing. That evening Sean expressed that he hadn't lost his old form (he was drafted by some baseball team), and he exclaimed with great pride it felt good to get out there and toss the ball around with SJ.

However, the next morning, the story was a little different. After taking several Tylenol  and stretching a bit, Sean couldn't decide which body part was in the most "pain." Thank goodness, I thought, that SJ doesn't throw the discus and shot put as Michael did in high school or Sean wouldn't have been able to walk!

But the situation got me thinking about pain. Sometimes being in pain has nothing at all to do with a disease or as in Sean's case, soreness. Rather many pains come in the form of emotional pain from the decisions we make or the relationships we are in or the things that we wish we had done or didn't do. Learning to balance many of these complex issues is what makes us the individuals we are.

We are all in this together and so many times it becomes so much more bearable when we have someone who will just hold our hand and tell us it's going to be ok. It doesn't matter if you are old or young, your race, what your socioeconomic status is, or what your traditions or faiths are, we all have instances in this life that pain us and many times we need a caring community to be there for us and hold our hand.

And AARP is here to help. "AARP helps members and their communities help themselves. Caring and compassion are the bottom line of AARP. Their goal is to give people a voice, a sense of community, and a purpose through  Create the Good and the  AARP Foundation."

So often we just think AARP is for insurance or the retired, but it has many fingers and can extend that helping hand, and you too can make a difference. Don't assume because a person gets that clean bill of health at the doctor that they don't have issues in their lives. Ask questions, TURN AROUND, seize the opportunity to encourage, support and be part of that caring community that enriches everyone's lives with happiness and love on a daily bases.

You be the difference maker!

Photo credit: antonella.beccaria

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