Q: Dear Scott,
One of my best friends from college has been in the Peace Corps for the past two years. Now she’s back in her hometown, 2,000 miles away.
Here’s my issue, which is admittedly kind of silly: I feel terribly guilty that I never sent her a care package while she was gone.
I wrote her lots of e-mails and a couple of letters, but the thought of assembling a nice package and then paying $70 or so for postage to the other side of the world was just more than I could handle financially. Plus, I’d heard that very few packages would make it to her remote village without being opened and pilfered from along the way!
Should I bring up how badly I feel? Am I a horrible, horrible friend for not sending her food when she mostly subsisted on cooked grains and oil for two years while I continued to live the luxurious American lifestyle of fresh vegetables and meat, not to mention running water, cars, and indoor plumbing?
Thanks for your sage wisdom, Scott!
– Guilty
SCOTT: You mean your friend was out there in some jungle living in a mud hut eating bugs and leaves and you didn’t send her anything?
That’s cold! How can you live with yourself?
Only kidding.
She knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she joined the Peace Corps but now she’s back and you’re feeling guilty how can you make it up to her? Let me think about it.
Oh, I know!
Send her a care package now, with a note explaining how bad you feel. She’ll love it and you’ll save not only that $70 in postage but the reward of a clear conscience too.