Not really

A coworker got a tragic phone call last night, just as we were leaving work. Her 80-year-old mother had a stroke effecting 40% of her brain. Mom was being rushed into surgery in a hospital 2000 miles away.

So I stayed with her until she got further word from her siblings. I didn't have any work to do. I farted around on Farmville 2 and made tentative plans for Christmas 2014 in Key West. I just didn't want her to be alone.

After two hours, after she heard promising news from her brother, we went to our individual homes. She thanked me profusely, saying my sticking around with her was "a huge deal."

No it wasn't. It really wasn't. It was, quite literally, the least I could do. Yet it meant to much to her.

I'm reminded again how easy it is to make other people feel better. I just have to be more thoughtful and aware.