I thought about writing something political this week. There is just so much to say, but I decided to try not to think about all the bad things going on in Washington, D.C. right now. Instead, I want to hark back to my childhood. How many of you remember the fine art of visiting with your neighbors when you were kids? What made me think of this you might ask? It was the Turkey Dinner at Holy Rosary last Sunday.

The mysterious “everyone” says we spend too much time on our computers and staring at our phones. We have forgotten how to actually talk to people. Many of us just don’t take the time to visit with our neighbors, much less other people, very often.

Community events give us that opportunity to catch up with what our fellow man in this area is doing. For the bigger events, maybe people we haven’t seen in awhile come home. And we get a chance to find out what is happening in the lives of the people we maybe only see once every year or two, or 10.

But COVID took away some of the places where people used to spend that time actually talking to each other. Food pantry is now done drive through. Many church dinners are also done drive through. We go through drive through lanes for fast food and drive through lanes at the bank. It wasn’t always this way. It got worse during COVID when everything was shut down, and some of it just never came back. This isn’t meant as a criticism of any church or organization. They still provide service to the community as they always have, just in a different way.

It is probably also made harder because of the divisiveness in our country right now over an assortment of issues. There are things you just can’t bring up or it will cause an argument, sometimes even in your own family.

It is easier for the volunteers that put on some of these events to do drive through. Things go faster and there is less to clean up when you are done. But what are we losing in the process?

If I could have a wish granted for Valentine’s Day this year, which should be a time of togetherness, it would be that we could come together again and find ways to visit with each other, to share our lives and experiences, good and bad, with our neighbors. All you need to begin to change the world for the better is for one person to take action. Hopefully, that will be followed by another person and another person, and before you know it the world is a better place. At least our little corner of the world can be. So, with Valentine’s Day coming up, take time to personally reach out to someone, a family member, friend, or neighbor and give them the gift of your time. This has far more value than a card that will be thrown out or a box of candy that will soon be eaten because you will be creating a memory.