By Shannon Milliman
Last summer we took our young family of seven to Burley, Idaho for a family reunion. We saw The City of Rocks, mountains laden with roaming cattle, the Wrigley farm complete with my Dad’s name scrawled on the sheep shed, picked raspberries from Grandma’s backyard, rode bikes past fields of wheat and corn and shared stories of our family. Our children were meeting most of these family members for the first time. What struck me most was the impact that Great Grandpa Christenson had on my youngest son, Phineas. When he met this man of great stature that could have been mistaken for a stranger my son had wisdom in his young three year old heart that Great Grandpa was special. My son showered Great Grandpa with crude, lopsided drawings with very big eyes and wiggly smiles, hugs every 15 minutes and bright, adoring smiles at every turn. My grandfather, his great-grandfather gave him a simple gift of love and attention and it was cherished.
I consider what my elders have given me and am grateful for strong family ties. This year I have been uplifted by a non-profit organization, Dress for Success that gives women support as they seek employment and encourages women to develop professionally and ultimately thrive for self-defined success in life. Selected as the Oregon delagate for Dress for Success’s annual Leadership Summit in Miami, Florida I have returned with a unique opportunity to develop a Community Action Plan fueled by my own passion.
Our society has an intergenerational gap where our elderly and younger generations are becoming more and more isolated. Our current generation of the elderly have rich life experiences and wisdom to share with younger generations. My CAP project entails community based writing workshops intended to develop strong skills for writing good, old-fashioned letter-writing to encourage those in attendance to write two letters: one to a relative of an older generation and one to an elder they do not know. It is intended that meaningful pen pal writing relationships will form opening up a window for personal narrative exchanges.
Reflecting on the bounty of family and connection I have, I am mindful that many do not have this and it is all of our opportunity to bridge the gap so that our precious elderly generation can thrive and share their life experiences.
As these workshops take place in our community I am seeking help and support. If you have a name, address and short sentence biography of an elderly individual who would benefit from a pen pal friendship, or would like to support this CAP in any other way please contact me at [email protected] .
I invite you to take an active part in mending the depleted fabric of our society. The small and simple act of inviting a relative, neighbor or friend into a pen pal friendship will reward our society with an unmeasurable bounty. Reconnect, like little Phineas with your Great Grandpa, your Uncle, Your Grandmother’s sister or your own Father. Find another who needs love and support and in the process you will find treasures untold.
http://envelopesforelderly.blogspot.com/
