4 Tips For Supporting A Grieving Loved One When You Live Far Away

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If you have a family member or friend who lives in another city or state and who has recently lost a loved one, you may want to support that person as much as you can. If you aren't able to be there in person, such as if you have work or family obligations that make it impossible to travel to where your loved one lives, you could be wondering how you can share support from afar. A few ways that you can support your loved one during this difficult time are shared here.

1. Send Flowers

The first thing that you can do to show support for your loved one is to send flowers or a plant to his or her loved one's funeral. If you contact a local florist that provides funeral floral arrangements, you can give information about the type of flowers or plants that you want to send and the information about the funeral, such as where and when it's being held. Then, you can make sure that a nice arrangement is delivered in time for the service.

2. Send Food or a Helpful Gift

Beyond sending flowers to the funeral, there are other gifts that you can send to support your grieving loved one. For example, sending a gift card for a delivery restaurant can be very helpful. Then, while your loved one is grieving, he or she can order food when he or she doesn't feel like cooking.

3. Let Them Know You're There

Simply calling or texting and letting your loved one know that you are there for him or her during this difficult time might mean more than you think. Then, you have opened up an invitation for your loved one to talk to you if he or she needs it.

4. Be Patient

When you are far away and don't really know everything that is going on, you might crave the idea of speaking to your grieving loved one. Additionally, if you have sent flowers or gifts or have reached out in other ways, you could be hoping -- and expecting -- to get a response back. However, it's important to be patient. Your loved one might have a lot of friends and family members visiting and might have a lot of funeral arrangements to deal with. Simply waiting and being patient while your loved one is dealing with all of these things can be helpful.


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