I’m a Horrible Friend

Written by Carol

I’m a horrible friend. I forget birthdays. Anniversaries. I stink at it. I don’t mean to. Just sometimes…no most of the time, ok….honestly…all the time…details escape me. (I just sent a message to the school to tell my daughter what to do after school. It’s bad.)

But, I’m a fun friend. I love to laugh. I love to make people laugh EVEN MORE. So, I’m the girl that you call when you want to laugh.

But, this last year, a dear friend experienced a terrible tragedy. It’s the call you never want to get. And when you get it, it’s the call you never forget….and wish like everything that you could rewind the clock or stop time and change it.

I got the call. As I went to sit with her at her home I felt VERY inadequate. I’m the girl you call when you need to laugh. I felt awkward, unprepared.

So, I didn’t say anything.

Days passed. Weeks passed. Almost a year has passed…and still words won’t come. I don’t dare try to be clever or wise. The pain of loss still stings. And I still find myself with no words. Almost like, I’d not been a good friend because I hadn’t been able to say something to soothe her shattered heart.

And then, a text: “On that awful Saturday, one of the things that sticks out the most in my mind is you beside me, just sitting on the floor beside me…and that’s just what I needed.”

So, today, if you are trying desperately to come up with words to encourage someone you love…know that maybe the best thing you can do for them is not say anything at all. Just sit beside them. Your presence can communicate things that words never can.