02 Aug Creating a World of Connection
Did you see the article in this morning’s news about loneliness? It couldn’t have been more timely.
As the organizer of all-things-BLUBERYL, I have a lot of conversations with parents, and families/friends/connection/community are always at the top of the list of “what’s most important to us.” For a long while we’ve known that elders suffer from loneliness, but now we’re seeing an uptick in loneliness in kids, teens, and young adults.
I say that we need an all out war on this—it has to change—our kids shouldn’t be chronically lonely! So, at BLUBERYL, we’re launching a campaign to fight loneliness and it includes 3 easy steps:
1. Prioritize connection with family, friends, and community
2. Make time for connection—it’s more important to ultimate success than GPA, the kind of college a student attends, or any extra-curricular activity offered
3. Create space and quiet time for one another
What does this mean to you as a parent launching into a new school year? Place some hard limits on commitments–some are great–too many are toxic. Find a few times per week when everyone can hang out together. Snatch pockets of one-on-one time with those you love!
Try…
** Cooking with and for those you love (maybe this means preparing meals on Sunday afternoon/evening for the week) and invite kids to join in or do their homework at the kitchen table
** Go apple picking and invite a few friends along
** Have a late summer picnic at a local park.
** Read on the couch and make room for someone to sit close by
** Invite a kiddo to run errands with you, give them control over the car stereo, and stop to do something fun along the way
** Take out a great childhood game and play it or start a big puzzle and leave it where folks can gather (a folding card table is good for this!)
Time with one another is our most valuable commodity. At BLUBERYL, we cherish time to connect and we want to help you find ways to have more of what Dr. Hallowell coined Vitamin C(onnect) in your life!
We’ll offer more ideas on connection as the 2019-2020 school year unfolds, but please do us a favor and hold close the ones you love.
— Lorie
PS Reach out if you we can help you come up with ways to schedule some Vitamin C(onnect) in your life.
