As the weather cools, stay warm

It may be hard to believe with the lingering summer heat we’re experiencing here in the city, but the days are cooling. The leaves are changing. The sun’s daily journey across the sky is growing shorter.

Fall is descending upon us in crisp breezes and pumpkin spice-laden menus. With the season’s arrival, there is an instinct to slow down, to retreat indoors as wintry weather lurks surprisingly close around the corner. Fall can become a time for healthy introspection, for family time and steaming paper cups of apple cider. But the quiet that cooler weather and shorter days often bring can also lead to feelings of loneliness.

Loneliness doesn’t discriminate, and especially now in this age of technology, in which we appear more connected than ever, it is simultaneously easier to feel isolated and alone. Older adults living independently may begin to feel lonelier as time spent on neighborhood walks or simply chatting with neighbors while grabbing the mail are cut shorter by biting winds and longer periods of darkness. However, those feelings aren’t limited to any one age or demographic group. Young children may feel lonelier as summer activities die down. Parents may feel lonelier as their children are sent back off to school — whether they attend college states away or an elementary school down the block.

Not only does loneliness not care if one is young or old — it has no regard for how many people one is surrounded with either. The old cliche of feeling all alone in a room full of people does, in fact, have merit. Someone can live in a bustling household, work daily in a crowded office, or join an after-school sports team and still lack the kind of meaningful connection they need.

For these reasons, as the weather continues to cool and pull us slowly but surely into the depths of winter, it is important to check in on one another. Friends, neighbors, classmates and acquaintances can all extend warmth to one another even as the air around us takes on its seasonal chill. Community members may have fewer chance encounters as our daily schedules start including more time indoors, but this does not mean it is inevitable that we let loneliness take hold.

During the fall and this subsequent winter, we must remember to check in with one another and make time for one another. Those who are able might bring a neighbor some food, offer to clean up fallen leaves or spend quality time with someone new.

The Riverdale area also has a bounty of seasonal, family-friendly activities for everyone to enjoy throughout the fall season, from get-togethers centered on music or movies to community cleanups and Halloween-themed events. These are more great opportunities not just to be around neighbors, but to truly connect with others.

Darker days and colder can have a tendency to make us feel a bit disconnected. Even as the leaves change to fiery oranges and reds, it’s natural for the fading of sunnier days to leave one feeling a bit blue. So, as we bundle up in sweaters to fight off the burgeoning chill, we must also remember to spread warmth to our neighbors in whatever ways we can.