My friend used to tell me regularly how she would come home from work and then take her dog for a ride in the car. When I asked her why, she simply replied that the dog has been home alone all day, and that she must want to get out and see something new.

I won’t say that I can give my dog that much credit for a complete thought. But perhaps she knows her dog better than I know mine.

What I do concur with is the idea that people, and maybe dogs, do need to get out of the house.  After sitting in the house for days at a time, instead of getting motivated, I get restless. No amount of work can assuage the feeling. I can tell myself–in fact, admonish myself–to shake it off and get to work.

Yet what I really need is just a little time outside these walls, and just a little time to be around other people.

I know I have reached the limits of my confinement when a trip to the grocery store looks like a fun outing.  The conversation goes something like, “The GROCERY store! Let me get my shoes!”  I know it is even worse when the dentist calls to confirm my root canal, and I say with sheer joy “See you tomorrow!”  Thankfully, my sister Belinda is great for an adventure, and I just need to tickle her ears with an outing and can hear her picking up her keys and locking the door behind her.

I am lucky to have my sister. She is much more fun at the Dress Barn than my husband. Dear hubby.  He has ventured into that arena and, to his credit, can stick it out for at least ten minutes. Then, he explodes out the door like he had been plunged in the cannon and the fuse has met its powder.

The point is that I cannot be the only one who can benefit from an outing of either simple or gigantic proportions. I cannot drive, so I do rely on the kindness of others.

One thing I remind myself is that, when someone  does come to take me out for a while, it is not the time to complain for the first twenty minutes about how awful it is to sit in the house day after day. Nothing will ensure that you will continue the pattern of being homebound more than the attitude you carry when you do get out. In other words, be pleasant so people will want to invite you back out.  Their kind gesture should not carry with it war wounds for having done a kindness, nor should it feel like martyrdom because they spent time with you.  Believe me, I know that I complain to my sister way too much. I realize that my complaining changes our relationship, so I continually renew my vow to stop doing that. Every interaction we have is never neutral. We impact people for good or for negative. Let’s try to make it positive so they will want to have us for company in the future.

Do you know someone who might be helped with your kind gesture of a visit or an outing?  It will most likely benefit everyone involved. They may not show their excitement like a dog with its head happily sticking out the window, ears flapping in the breeze and lips curled from the force of the wind. But then, who knows? Maybe your passenger would like to get that free feeling, too.

Take the time, make the phone call. Place a smile on someone’s face.

Blessings, Denise

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