Divorce is one of those issues where people don’t know what to say, when they know you are going through the process. Sometimes they don’t know how to act or what to do and often what happens is that people retreat and give you “space” and assume if you want to talk about it, you will come to them, but they definitely don’t want to ask about how your divorce is going.
It is important to have a support when you are going through the divorce process, it is a hard process. It is estimated that 6.7% of the U.S. Population suffers from depression and that number goes even higher when you are talking about the context of a divorce. So how can you give your friend space and be for them at the same time?
The easiest thing that you can do is just invite them out for a drink or coffee. Let them know that they don’t have to talk about what is going on and that you aren’t looking for gossip or information relating to their divorce, you just want to go have a drink and listen because you are interested in their life and how they are doing.
However, if you want to really be there for them, then one of the easiest and most effective things that you can do for your friend. INVITE THEM OVER FOR DINNER. It is hard to turn down a hot meal for anyone and if your friend moved out of their home, chances are they are eating out a lot, so a home cooked meal can always be comforting, make you feel like people care about you, and bring some normalcy to a chaotic time in their lives.
Don’t know what to cook, try this roast chicken recipe that is really easy to make as the oven does most of the work and pairs really nice with wine.
ROAST CHICKEN
Ingredients:
- 1 roasting chicken (5-6 lbs serves at least 4)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bunches of fresh thyme
- 1 lemon
- 1 head garlic
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
- 8 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
- 1 bulb of fennel
- Olive oil
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
- Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with a bunch of the thyme, cut the lemon in half and put both inside the chicken, cut the garlic in half and put it all in the chicken. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and salt and pepper the outside.
- Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Put enough olive oil over them so you can toss them with salt, pepper and the remainder of your thyme. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
Serve it with vegetable or mashed potatoes and just let the conversation flow naturally. You aren’t there to talk about the divorce, you are just there to socialize and enjoy each other’s company.
By: Jason A. Bowman
