February 10, 2009
How to Help – Part 2 4
Yesterday I was talking on the phone with one of the families who lost their son in that tragic fire training incident in Kilgore, TX. Part of my job is to help them get on a road of recovery and healing and tohelp them find a ‘ new normal’ in their lives. There are many facets to this, I will save for a different post, but we happened to be talking about what helped her during those hours and days after her son’s death. She simply said, ‘a book of stamps.’
The day after his funeral, a book of stamps tucked away in a sympathy card arrived on her doorstep. Who would have ever thought that a simple book of stamps would mean so much? I never even thought about that as something to give to a grieving family! I told this mother that I would immediately be putting this small token of compassion on my list! She said that she had all of the food she could handle but this book of stamps brought her to tears. She was going to start writing thank you letters but didn’t want to visit the small town post office. It’s amazing that someone had thought of this.
I thought this would be a great post to add to the How to Help series. Part 1
Feb 11, 2009 @ 08:19:19
I would have never thought about a book of stamps as a gift of compassion for a grieving family. It is amazing how the really small things are what make the biggest impact on a person life at any one moment in time. Thanks for the post. God Bless.
Feb 11, 2009 @ 08:42:08
When my grandma died almost 20 years ago–my mom was in her late 30s. I’ll never forget the best thoughtful thing that arrived. I couldn’t even tell you today who it was that brought it, but it was a paper bag full of paper items…TP, napkins, plates, cups, silverware. I remember my mom saying how nice it was since there were so many people from out of town that she didn’t have time to get those items. I think what my mom appreciated the most was the TP. You got through lots of TP when you have 20 people in a house that usually only has 7. I know for several years after that she always brought people a bag of different paper items to grieving families.
Feb 11, 2009 @ 09:27:39
I know when Ric was so sick last year, right after the surgery and during the summer when he was going through chemo and radiation, we had a lot of people writing us little notes or bringing us dinner, or even little things for Chick (a puzzle book, a little stuffed animal, a flowering plant) to let her know she wasn’t forgotten in our turbulent time. But I wrote a lot of thank you cards and stamps would have been welcome. Possibly even those blank note cards with a beautiful design.
Feb 11, 2009 @ 12:03:48
Thanks for all of your suggestions and sharing the gestures that have helped you! It’s nice to read about the things others have done to help families get through difficult times!