Happy Fall Everyone!

What a great summer it was for us, and I hope also for you. While I enjoy each season, I can truly say Fall is my favorite. I enjoy the cooler weather, the changing colors and the shorter days. Like the squirrels in my yard, I am gathering books, canning fruit, and gathering projects in preparation for the hibernation season of winter.

I have been reading a few articles on friendship. Recently the US Surgeon general warned that we are in the midst of a national loneliness epidemic and that 12% of Americans stated in a poll that they have no close friends. Another article I read talked about not only the importance of "strong" friendships but also "weak" friendships. These are the people that you connect with on a frequent basis for a brief period of time, like the grocery store clerk. It seems according to research that these weaker or casual friendships are just as necessary for our happiness as our "strong" ones are. I encourage each of you to look for ways to increase your casual friendships as well as be that casual friend for someone else. So that by waving to our neighbor as they walk their dog past our house, chatting with the barista at our favorite coffeeshop, and smiling at people in the isle of the grocery store we will increase a sense of connectedness and decrease loneliness.