Thursday, October 2, 2008

Thursday Thirteen

I had a friend come over today and she did me a huge favor. I casually commented that favor this would go on my ultimate list of things a Good Friend Does, which is a list I've been compiling in my head and been blessed to be on the receiving end a lot lately, and sometimes occasionally these are things I've done:

A Good Friend:

1. Will Clean up your cat's hairball for you.
Especially when you're pregnant, and such things make you gag to even think about, let alone touch. A more treasured gift when you didn't realize it had been there a while, and she had to "scrub." Ewww. This was today's gift. How loved am I?!

2. Will drug your cat for you. I was hospitalized shortly after we'd had surgery on Dusty while pregnant with Chris, and I was in a tizzy because I knew that no one (no sane person anyway) would take care of Dusty, giving him his daily antibiotic. He used to really fight oral medications, let's just say it was amazing how though he was front declawed, those claws ended up everywhere. I did have a friend Offer, and just the offer meant as much to me as if she'd actually done it.

3. Will take care of your crazy animals. Sometimes even a crazy friend will take your dog to their house. No one is crazy enough to move this cat, not even us, but they are sweet enough to come over and feed him, water him, and occasionally give him lots of loving, which is often more than we do.

4. Will buy you a drink. Be it alcoholic, Starbucks, or a milkshake, a good friend knows when you need a good drink.

5. Will Cook you dinner. I never realized how wonderful a gift this was until the weeks after Chris was born and after his surgeries. I have been SO blessed to have such a wonderful network during our time of need. A friend knows to bring you noodles and/or chocolate, Store bought, i.e. Noodles and Company, or homemade brownies, it's ALL GOOD. I've now hopped on the bandwagon in doing this for others, but how many times have we given a meal, and we've forgotten to make one for ourselves?

6. Will drive 2 hours each direction just to have lunch with you. I had a friend do this when we were visiting from when we lived out in California. It meant so much that she was a. willing to drive so far on her Christmas break, and b. actually was on the road longer than she got to see me.

7. Will drop everything and come running when you call. There are many instances where this can apply, a friend popping over after a particularly heinous day, or coming when you can't take your child anymore or like when I called my friend because my back had locked up and I was stuck on the floor with a toddler running wild, and my car ON in the driveway and she came running.

8. A friend will get you drugs. I'm not talking about illegally. Sometimes a friend will run to the pharmacy for you. But in case #7, said friend dug around my medicine cabinet, and gave me my magic pills so that by the time husband came home, the drugs were kicked in enough, I got myself off the floor using exercise ball and wall.

9. Will do your laundry.
Somehow your friend knows that you have a man-eating pile of laundry. Then she does it for you and returns it all happily folded, even folding children's pajamas which is something you may not even do, I don't!

10. Will clean your house. It's miraculous enough to have a friend do your vacuuming while you're incapacitated, but to have someone clean your bathrooms...That's Love.

11. Will battle the crowds and do Christmas shopping for you. When I was pregnant, suddenly I found myself on bedrest and not allowed to do any holiday shopping. Then I got the surprise that I was going to have the baby BEFORE CHRISTMAS (instead of January 7, as originally predicted, Chris was born the 21st). My friend picked up Christmas gifts for spouse and baby, and My First Christmas OutfitS. It was especially wonderful that she brought it to me at the hospital, and never once did she ask me for money.

12. Pray with you. Sometimes even (Dogs and Cats!) praying aloud.

13. Pray for you. Often that's all I need.

5 comments:

Andrea said...

That is sooo funny - my mom just cleaned a cat hairball for me too for that exact reason. I swear I tried a few times but every time I went near it, I started gagging. Ack!

amypfan said...

Love this list. I need to make one. It will include "drives your child to preschool when last-minute carseat crisis prevents the sitter from doing it... and feeds child a pumpkin bagel to boot."

Jenibug7 said...

Aren't good friends the greatest? Kindof sad because I can't think of anyone here who I would let do a lot of those things for me yet. But I had a multitude up there...

Suellen said...

A good friend would also skip her chiropractor appt just to come sit with you at your house and wash your bottles because you desperately need your pain meds and are a little scared to be by yourself with the new baby.

Cathy said...

I think that qualifies under Drop Everything. But you're welcome.