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I find this New York Times story so poignant, so heartbreaking, and so dispiritingly illustrative of our atomized and lonely society. A woman in Tulsa, disconnected from everyone, posted an ad on Craigslist offering her services to whichever family might want her to help out as Grandma for Christmas. “I can cook,” she said cheerfully. “I’ll even bring food & gifts for the kids! I HAVE NOBODY AND IT REALLY HURTS.”


As a pile-on to the woe of that message, some Craigslist users attacked the woman and said vile things about her, suggesting she was a duplicitous monster perpetrating some kind of scam.

A Times reporter tracked down the woman, whose name is Carrie, and discovered that she is estranged from her daughter and therefore not allowed to see her granddaughter. She recently went to a dance studio where the girl was performing and secretly watched through the window.

If you have relatives you don’t get along with, consider the season and forgive them. Give them a call. Defeat loneliness one family at a time.