Last week I wrote about things that aren't helpful when a person is suffering. Today I thought I would write about some things that have helped us to make it through this trying time.

1.Friends have been great about coming to visit.
Sometimes it was at the hospital. I really don't like hospitals very much. I think it is often uncomfortable to go visit someone while they are in the hospital. During Keith's illness, we were in and out of the hospital quite a bit. We had some long, hard days. It was such a comfort to have friends nearby. Two experiences stick out in my mind. One is the day that Keith had the gamma knife procedure. I had not gone to the initial appointments because Lincoln was only a few weeks old at the time, so it was overwhelming to say the least when the doctors explained the procedure and possible complications. Several girls from our old church came and spent a few hours with me. It was a wonderful distraction! The other time that comes to mind was when Keith had cancer the first time. He had to get chemo every weekday for a month. Another friend was at Baylor at the time going to dental school, and he would often stop by and sit with Keith while he was getting his infusion. Going to get chemo is hard. No one should ever have to do that alone. I was working then, so I was unable to go with Keith all the time. I am so grateful to that man for being there with Keith when I couldn't be there with him.

People also came to visit us at home. It is one thing to visit someone when they are sick. It is another thing to to visit someone who is dying. So many people made an effort to come see Keith. People even came in those last days. I warned them that he might not know that they were there, but they came anyways.

2. Friends have been soooo willing to help.
The first example that pops into my head is a man from church who has been mowing our yard. Considering the fact that I have never mowed a lawn before, I think you can understand what a huge blessing this is. Another time that people helped out was when Keith had to get radiation. Once again he had to go to Baylor every day for 15 days. Several people from church drove Keith to Baylor or watched Lincoln so I could take Keith. Last week 5 friends came over and painted the house. The list could go on and on.

3. Friends have brought us food.
People have been so kind to us. Our church has brought us food, and more food, and more food. We also received several gift cards to local restaurants. When Keith was sick, the last thing I wanted to think about was cooking dinner. It was great to have that taken care of!

4. Friends and strangers have sent us cards and e-mails.
I just threw the cards away a few weeks ago. I wish I had counted them. I would guess that we received over 200 cards (not including sympathy cards). While Keith was sick, I taped cards to two doors in our kitchen. On the hardest of days, it was encouraging to look at those cards and know that they represented people who were praying for us.

5. Friends made an effort to show their support after Keith's death.
Several of Keith's friends from Harding that live in the Little Rock area came to the visitation. That means that they drove 10 hours in one day (here and back) just to speak to me for a few minutes. All of my previous principals (3 and one assistant) were at the memorial. Many of the teachers and staff that I taught with in Mesquite and in Celeste came to the visitation and/or the memorial. All 5 of my dear college friends came. Several of my friend from high school came. A few of my parents' friends came. Lets just say, many, many people came.

As for Tennessee, a couple and another friend from the Dallas/Fort Worth area attended Keith's funeral. It was so nice to see a few familar faces among the crowd of strangers! Several of Keith's friends traveled great distances to attend his funeral. One friend flew in from Colorado. (His name is Brad Renfroe. I included his name because he told me he wanted to be able to google his name and be linked to the blog. Here's you moment of fame Brad. : ) Two other friends drove in from North Carolina. Keith's brother and his family live in Alabama. Many of their friends came as well. I know I haven't listed everyone. If I left you out, please don't be offended. I didn't get much sleep last night thanks to a little boy named Lincoln.

I'm sure there is more that I could say. Lincoln drank a bottle while I was typing, and now he is asleep. I think I may climb in bed with him and try to get a little more sleep.