Letter from the Publisher

Dear Readers,

When I write this letter every year, I try to reflect on the past year and think about what may come next, but this year I really did not want to. Initially I thought about frustration with zoom calls, politics, vaccine anxiety, and staffing shortages. It is a lot! My children spent most of last year with remote learning, my husband was managing cancer treatments and surgeries, my staff and I kept inventing new ways to work every week. We all are exhausted. Then I stop and realize… so is everyone else! The world is short staffed, and yet I see people being so very rude to those that show up to serve. Just as COVID finally seems like it may be fading a bit, we turn on the news to see Russia invade Ukraine. It feels like one blow after another and we do not know what will come next. I am choosing to make a shift and I hope you will as well. It may seem very small in the grand scheme of things, or even cliché. We can choose to treat those around us with grace and kindness, and we can start by extending that grace to ourselves. We can take just one minute to catch our breath, smell the smells, see the sights, feel the wind, and plant our feet. I have spent a lifetime planning for what I will do “someday”, and I have realized that maybe I should do more of that “TODAY”. I don’t need to pretend that I have a plan for how to manage it all, because guess what, I have never done this before. We can be kind to those that show up, whether it is behind a coffee counter, to the person on the phone, or as a caregiver. I am trying to slow down and take a minute for me and for the other person- and it is making a difference. I wish I had something better to share, but the one thing I have learned from last year is that I can stay calm and carry on, and maybe sometimes cry. So we will carry on with what my team does well: gathering resources and connecting people. There is a massive shortage of caregivers right now and families are struggling to find the right care for their loved ones. Please plan ahead when possible and be patient. The providers we work with have been resilient and fearless in serving seniors and their families. Sometimes it's not always possible and a crisis may occur. CareAvailability.com and Retirement Connection Guide are both great tools to help you connect with the providers. Retirement Connection is provided free of charge because our sponsors/ advertisers have provided financial support to maintain and update the guide and the website. Please return the favor by contacting our sponsors when you encounter a need for their services. If your physician’s office, church, or other organization would like additional copies, we are happy to provide these at no cost. Please call us, visit our website or email us at: Mktg@RetirementConnection.com to order as many as you need.