ok so in the last two days one of my classmates' mother died. It was really unexpected to me even though she had been fighting off cancer. her son, who i dont really talk to that much, is in a group project with me for a class. I don't know what to say to him when i see him. The family is keeping this all really private and I don't want to be pushing. Since I think that they had seen it coming for a while, he doesn't seem to be all that depressed but maybe it's just taking a while for it to sink in. help me on what to say ! 16/f thanks in advance
But then my own dad died, and I got to see things from the other side. It was definitely better when people said something, anything really, it didn't matter what. Because when someone didn't mention it at all, it just seemed weird. I could tell they wanted to say something but they just didn't know what to say, so there was this awkward unsaid thing hanging there and I felt kinda bad for THEM... I wanted to tell them, "It's okay, you can say something!"
So yeah... you should say something. Maybe just "I'm real sorry about your mom". It just lets him know that you care.
Also... this probably doesn't apply in your case, since you did't know his mom, but just for future reference... when my dad died, it really made me feel good when people talked about him to me; when people told me things they liked about him and things they were gonna miss. It was really comforting to know that other people loved him or appreciated him, etc. And now that I know how I felt in that situation, it's easier for me to know what to say when someone loses someone close.
Brunette3725 answered Sunday October 7 2007, 3:30 am: you should ask him if hes doing okay and if he needs anything youre there for him. tell him he has lots of people that care about him and will help him out if he needs it.
cederian answered Sunday October 7 2007, 2:43 am: i think you should tell him that you are there if he needs you and maybe you are right because i speak from personal experience and it took me a while to realize the pain of my fathers death but some recieve the emotion of what hapens faster than others.signed the helper [ cederian's advice column | Ask cederian A Question ]
iammow answered Sunday October 7 2007, 2:05 am: I think since you don't want to embaress him or be upfront about it (since its a private affair) you should buy him a nice Sympathy card. Write a little in it and tell him your always there if he needs to talk and that you sympathize with his loss. Slip it to him in class and don't make it very obvious in front of the other classmates. Its always nice to know that someone cares, and you'll be doing more than you'll ever know by just giving that card. Even if he doesn't take you up on that offer to talk to you, he knows he can.
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