We're at that age where either 1) our bodies start breaking down on us and/or 2) the bodies of those we love start breaking down. In this case, it's her mother. She's looking at a triple bypass in a few weeks.
The only thing I sent her was, "Know that I'm pulling for you and hoping for the best."
I just hate how fucking milquetoast that sounds.
People who know me know that I don't push my religious beliefs on others. I'm not trying to convert them, I'm not trying to represent, none of that. My first reaction was to say a more elaborate version of, "She is in my prayers," but I don't know a) what religion (if any) she is (I suspect, don't know but suspect, Neo-Pagan) and b) even if she's Christian, I don't know if saying that will bother her.
We all have these little things we do that fall outside our religious experiences. When my teacher was sick, one of the coders, a very granola guy, said he was sending her reiki. Do I believe in it? No. But I appreciated the gesture. He wasn't trying to convert me (or her) using his mystic reiki powers, it was just a gesture of compassion and humanity. But that's just with New Age-y reiki. It's not a dominant, establishment religion. There are people that, if you offer to say a prayer for them, will freak out.
This isn't to say they don't have the right to freak out, I know how annoying Christians can be. But it leaves me in a bind. I mean, what can I say? I wouldn't be saying this to promote my religion or to try and spread the spirit or anything. But I can't think of anything religiously neutral that will properly convey my sympathies and hopes for her. And I don't want to say anything generally religious or specifically Christian for fear of her thinking I'm a dick. So I'm left with something that sounds cold and impersonal, which could also make her think I'm a dick.
Conscience makes cowards of us all. It also makes us isolated from each other.
