Helping a Friend May Not Convenient, But It’s What Friends Do

Today was as packed as any other day. Get the kids dressed, fed, and take them to school. Come home and jump on a conference call. Work on the computer for three hours. Throw in a load of laundry. Go to a meeting. Return home and prepare for the busy part of the day–when the kids come home. Karate, Cub Scouts, art class, homework, dinner, and a Twitter party. Probably pretty similar to your day.

In the middle of it all today my phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID and could see it was a friend. This friend often needs assistance and I was tempted to not answer because of how busy I was. But I picked up the call anyway; what’s more important than helping a friend in need?

She asked if I could take her to Home Depot. I really didn’t want to; I really didn’t have time. But I did it anyway. I put myself in her shoes and realized how hard it probably is for her to be reliant on others and to constantly ask for help. She has family and other friends too, and I know she tries to spread the requests among us all. I realized that if she was calling me and asking for help, then it was because she truly needed it. And even if she didn’t, even if she just wanted some company, that’s what friends are for.

So I picked her up and we drove to the store. I could tell how much she enjoyed being out, something that I usually take for granted. We spent a long time at Home Depot; she walks very slowly, and didn’t want to be pushed in a wheelchair. So we took our time, and I didn’t mind. She knew I had to pick up the kids from school soon, but I told her not to worry. This was more than a simple trip to the hardware store for her.

After checking out, instead of rushing her back home I asked if she would go with me to get the kids. I’ve never seen someone so happy to do carpool. At some point I realized that my long list of tasks wasn’t as important as I had thought it was. So off we went to the school. I drove slowly. She didn’t mind.

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