Senior News Line: How a simple hello helps ease loneliness in seniors

I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard someone say the words “I’m lonely.” But I heard it today, and it hit me hard. The words were spoken by a very elderly woman to her daughter.

The scene was the long checkout line at the store. The pair, the woman and her daughter, were ahead of me in line, and the mother was chatting with two people who were ahead of them.

When the first couple checked out and left, the daughter quietly chastised her mother, saying, “You don’t need to talk to people you don’t even know,” to which the mother replied, “I’m lonely.”

The daughter could have had any number of replies. She could have said she’d be staying with her mother for the rest of the day.

She could have mentioned an event at the senior center. She could have invited her mother to dinner.

But what she said was, “Let’s just get you home.”

I could easily picture how it would go: The daughter would take her mother home, unpack the groceries and leave. This exchange was the saddest thing I’ve witnessed in a long time.

There are any number of ways to combat loneliness, but all of them require making an effort to change the situation.

That elderly woman instinctively knew one of the steps to fight loneliness and she bravely acted on it: Talk to people around you, even if it’s just briefly in a grocery checkout line.

I would hope she also knows, despite the daughter’s restrictive attitude, that having a routine of calling or meeting with others is a good way to stay connected, as well as volunteering or taking a class.

A lesson for everyone: If an elderly person starts chatting with you in a grocery line, engage and talk to them. You might be the only person they talk to all week.