Sense of Community Important in Old Age

When my sister moved with her family to Texas in 1984, while I was living here in northern Florida, it left my parents by themselves back in my childhood home in Hollywood (near Miami).  My mother passed away in 2002, and that left my father living alone in the old house, albeit with a lot of stray neighborhood cats he took in and cared for.  But Daddy did not take to forming supportive relationships with others outside the immediate family, and as his vision and coordination gradually deteriorated with age, he found himself increasingly more in isolation, with my visits or those of Anita being special times when we could help him out with things. As Melissa and I are now the oldest surviving generation in our families, it gives me a sense of gratitude that she has some very good and deep connections with others.  For myself, though, on the other hand, it isn't quite so simple as I have almost instinctively been reclusive instead of pursuing a probably healthier level of social interaction. So although I'd rather spend time alone or with Melissa, I think that...at least while we're both still "up and about"...it just might behoove me to proactively engage in a more sociable context even if I start out feeling a bit critical and negative.  I think that's one reason I do the weekly Parkruns, but there are all kinds of groups like that get together, in real time and space, to unite around their shared interests.  Time for me to get down to figuring just how I'm going to step out of my isolationist comfort zone...