A friend of mine (she wishes to remain anonymous, so let’s call her Mary) tells of a kindness she did for a woman from another town whose husband was seriously ill in Waikato Hospital. The poor woman was running herself ragged, with travel and other commitments. The only time she sat still was at her husband’s bedside, which was emotionally draining, if not physically.
Mary knew that what her friend needed was time to just sit and do nothing. So one sunny day she drove her friend to Raglan, furnished her with a box of chocolates and a bottle of low alcohol wine and left her there, saying she’d pick her up in a couple of hours.
Mary’s intuition told her that leaving her friend alone would be more beneficial than spending social time with her. And she was right. Later, her friend said it was the best thing that could have happened at that stressful time in her life.
(PS The husband has now recovered, so there’s another happy ending.)