A difficult wait is less lonely when somebody remembers that ordinary needs continue through it.

Waiting on hard news suspends everything except the body’s ordinary requirements. You still need to eat, sleep, find clean clothes and feed the cat, and those needs feel almost embarrassing beside what you are waiting for, so they go unmet. Somebody who quietly handles the ordinary is saying that your life continues and that you are not alone inside the wait. It is practical help and company at the same time.

If someone you know is waiting on something hard, bring food or take a chore away without asking what would help. If you are the one waiting, let a small thing be done for you.