THE NESS | SOMEONE’S WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU
Someone recently told me that getting older is lonely. Most of their friends and family had passed away, there was nothing to do each day, and only a weekly visit to a group for activities.
I’ve thought about those words ever since.
Today, in Victoria Square, I noticed a phone booth with a simple message.
Someone’s waiting to hear from you.
Part of an Age NI and Lidl campaign, it highlights research suggesting that one in four older people in Northern Ireland sometimes or often go a whole day or more without speaking to anyone.
And with an ageing population and a growing number of people over 65, it’s something we should perhaps be thinking about more.
Because loneliness isn’t always about having nobody around. Sometimes it’s about no longer having the people who knew you best. The people who shared your memories, understood your stories and remembered the person you used to be.
How often have you seen an older person chatting to someone serving them in a shop, perhaps taking a little longer than the people waiting behind would like? Have you ever considered that it might be their only conversation that week?
As we get older, our world can become smaller.
A phone call won’t replace the people we’ve lost, but it might remind someone that they’re still part of somebody else’s world.
And perhaps the next time someone wants to chat a little longer, we could offer them a little patience, kindness and consideration.
Sometimes being remembered is everything.
