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Greetings!
People who will be traveling or who live far away from a friend going through a challenge can sometimes feel disconnected and helpless. Being involved can be simpler than you might think!
Here are some easy ways to be helpful to your friend while you are far away:
- Sign up to provide dinner one evening. Call in the order to a local restaurant that delivers. Pre-pay with your credit card. Voila - all set!
- Send a handwritten note. Who doesn't love getting snail mail?
- Arrange for a "phone/video chat date" with your friend. Set a specific time to call so you know you're not disturbing a nap or cherished family time.
- Check the WhatFriendsDo blog so you know the current status of the situation.
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Going Far Away
Next week I will be traveling to another continent in another hemisphere, far from home and family, and I will feel even farther from my hospitalized friend. While my friend has been in the hospital, I have done my best to visit when she is feeling up for visitors. I have prepared meals and delivered them to her family, and I have helped with some other small tasks here and there. All of these things have been very easy to manage since I live so close to my friend and the hospital is not too far from my daily routines. I know in this age of Facebook, Twitter, email, smart phones and Skype it seems like one can never be very far away, or, at the very least, always connected.
But doing "what friends do" means more than being connected; it means doing something! So while I'm on the other side of the world I'll check my friend's WhatFriendsDo.com blog daily and leave messages for her on her guestbook. But I am going to do more. For starters, I've already signed up to help with an evening meal. Today I ordered a gift card online from one of the family's favorite restaurants (one that offers delivery!) I will also participate in one of the team cheer days. I picked September 4 - Music to My Ears Day. Ever since we met, my friend and I have marveled at our similar tastes in music. Over the last few days I've found four CDs that are perfect in every way. Not only are they the genre we like, but I found them at super bargain prices - one was even at a thrift store. I've wrapped the CDs and attached fun notes. They're in a gift basket, and another friend is going to drop the basket off for me on September 4.
So while I'm half a world away, I'm still able to DO something helpful while my friend and her family focus on recovery and healing. And, of course, I will mail her post cards from every city I visit.
--Aimee
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