Foul-weather friends
There are people who can't take crisis, but there are others who only show up for that.
If we weren’t in the midst of a hellish travail, it would be interesting to pay attention to who shows up when we’re in some sort of a crisis.
For as long as I can remember I’ve known the phrase fair-weather friend—the kind of person who’s there when life is sunny and you’re at the top of your game, the kind of person who can’t be around tears or silent grief, shame, or failure of any kind.
But I’ve known people who are foul-weather friends. I won’t hear from them for months or years, but if there’s a crisis, they are there with a phone call or e-mail or casserole. And somehow they know just what to do—how to be present without being pushy, just when to express the gallows humor, to bring the big box of kleenex and not the little travel-size pack.
