First, You Get a Hug

I have a friend whose only purpose in life is to love people. She’s good at it. Her mere presence emits love and compassion. She’s exactly the person you want a hug from when you need encouragement.
We are both directionally challenged. We get lost every time we are together, but laugh it off because we always have a story to tell before the ride is over. Detours on unrecognized streets bring us wonderful adventures we’d otherwise not run into. It would drive others insane, but this is how we roll.
My friend was going to go away this weekend for a fun visit with her sister-in-law. Instead, she will go tomorrow because the family was in a car wreck. The sister-in-law has broken bones in her arms and legs. Her husband may not wake up. One daughter died within hours of the accident. There is concern of spinal cord damage with another daughter.
How does one function after such a tragedy? It’s hard not to focus on the sadness and despair of this situation and become immobile. My friend knows that there is nothing she can do or say to change what has happened, but just by being there handing out hugs, she will make it bearable for her sister-in-law.
My friend called me to help her with directions to the hospital in this unfamiliar town. After much frustration with the many zigzag turns of bad directions on my part from an internet site, she phoned the hospital and got the two turns from the highway to the hospital down. My role is to bring humor to my friend - to help break her free of the numbness and incessant thoughts; to give her an outlet for anger; to provide an escape from reality for a moment. So far, thankfully, that has come naturally for me.