Bringing Small Comforts Series ~ Part One

My friend was here the other day wrapping gifts. We usually talk about many things, but what we mostly talked about that day was her friend who has been diagnosed with cancer. My friend is torn between doing too little and not doing enough, what she really wants to do is make her friend's cancer go away right now and she can't do that. So what she does is everything she can think of to help her friend, pray, listen, cry, visit, organize friends, make food, and one other incredibly thoughtful thing I think you might want to do as well if you have a friend in need. She drops off a small little gift at her doorstep each and every day. She doesn't knock on the door, she doesn't drop in unexpectedly, she simply leaves it there to let her friend know she is thinking of her each and every day as her good friend faces this unfair journey.

In order to bring gifts to a person who has cancer or to someone who is grieving, you have to get past the thought that it seems somewhat frivolous to gift someone who has bigger things on their mind. Big as in fighting for their Life. Big as in a loved one has died. Gifts are normally given in times of celebration, so the first association is one of pleasure and joy. But gifts can be more than that, done in the proper spirit they can be incredibly healing. Bringing beauty when it seems like it has gone far away.

This has been on my mind for awhile, how to talk to you about when a gift is given in a time of sadness, not celebration. It isn't that we don't know we should do something, but many of us are somewhat skittish when it comes to sickness or death. Even when we have been on the other side and know how it feels, we tell ourselves we'll do something, we just don't know what yet. Sometimes we do nothing and let the time pass. Some will send flowers, some will donate to charity, but sometimes you need to do more and it needs to be more personal. I can only tell you what I know, what I see, and what I hear after sending customer gifts at these challenging times. This is not a time to be skittish. This is not about you feeling awkward. It is a time when it is all about them. Period.

Bringing Small Comforts is the first in a series that I will be posting about over the next month or two. Feel free to give me input, share the unique ways you have found to give support and I will be happy to share them with readers. We all need help with this. We all need to do something. Anything to make them feel better. Some ideas will cost money, some will cost time, but I hope to share as many ideas as I can because I think it is an important subject if I blog about gifting.

As the first idea, let's get back to my friend thoughtful doorstep idea. We spent some time talking about products that would comfort someone with cancer and I will share that list as we move along in this series. Today I am showing you four ideas that can be done with pretty teacups you may already have and can reuse. One filled with wax as a beautiful teacup candle (clickh here for how-to), one with a few fresh blooms, one with a tea and strainer, and one with powder and a powder puff. If you like this doorstep idea, know that you don't have to do this yourself. It doesn't even have to be every day, it can be once a week. You can get a group of friends together to contribute to a fund and delegate who will be the shopper, who will deliver each day or week, it doesn't matter how........ it matters that you do something. Period.

1st and 4th photo by Kate French - Sarah Kaye/ 2nd photo Anthropologie candle from Country Living/3rd and 5th photo by Kate French - Sarah Kaye