Mom and a friend looked out for her after grandma's death — and the simple act of kindness never left her

An unexpected gesture of love stood out in a Reddit post shared by u/Key_Associate7476 on June 29, where one woman recalled how her mother made sure she was surrounded by comfort before sharing devastating news. In the post, originally written on X and later reposted to Reddit, the woman explained, "This morning my friend called me at 8:00 AM and asked me if I was up. She was at my door with smoothies." 

She continued, "About twenty minutes later, my mom called and told me my grandmother had passed away. She called my friend this morning and asked her to come be with me so I wouldn’t be alone." Research supports how meaningful that kind of support can be. A 2021 study found that emotional support, more than advice or problem-solving, was consistently the most helpful type after traumatic loss. The study emphasized that early, genuine presence from others was strongly linked to better long-term adjustment, lower distress, and improved mental health. Participants described these moments as essential for coping, with early emotional support linked to reduced distress and better long-term psychological adjustment.

People in the comments praised both the mother's and friend's thoughtfulness and shared their own experiences with loss. u/itsbubblegirlx wrote, "Even at times of grief, her mom is still thinking of her own daughter. This is a parent who truly cares..." u/AndyT70114 commented, "If I ever need to make THAT phone call, I hope I have the presence of mind to do this." Some shared their own stories of grief. u/Ulsterman24 said, "People grieve in weird ways. When our Mum died (cancer, we knew it was coming), I already had the funeral, flowers, service, grave and mortuary sorted before morning because I knew once grief kicked in Dad, brothers, sister (and me) would be useless." 

u/nofateeric said, "My best friend's Mom passed when we were younger. He called me and said something like, 'Hey man, my mom died. I just need a friend. I don't wanna talk about it, I just want to hang out and play video games for a couple of days.' A sad but awesome memory that I was able to do that for him. I'll never forget it." u/SaucePasta added, "I was told about my aunt’s passing first so I could rush to my parents' house and be there for my dad when he heard the news. That friend had a stressful job, but she knew she had to be there. Good job mom and friend!"

That same kind of presence from a friend stood out in another story, this time involving two longtime friends, Ashlee Gadd and Anna Quinlan. After Gadd suffered a miscarriage, she wasn’t ready to talk or see anyone, but Quinlan still found a way to support her. Instead of asking how she was doing, she texted a list of practical options, including childcare, dinner, a Target run with no contact, or simply prayers, allowing Gadd to choose what she needed most. Gadd asked for toilet paper and Cheez-Its, and both were dropped on her porch that afternoon. Quinlan later said she knew other friends would offer flowers or share their own stories, but she could show up in her own way. "I'm not as great at those resources, but I can drop toilet paper and crackers on your porch by 3 p.m.," she said.

If you're struggling to cope with grief, and need help, please reach out to Crisis response at 1-800-203-CARE (2273)