A couple years ago, I had a dear friend that had had a particularly bad week. I knew she was overwhelmed, overworked and exhausted. Things had not been going her way. I would have loved to zoom over to her house, watch her kids for a few hours or deliver dinner. But this friend lived several hours away from me.

So instead I opted for the next best thing. I ordered some fresh cookies to be delivered to her doorstep. This friend had recently moved, so I wanted to make sure I had the correct address to send these delicious warm cookies to. I checked the address I had for her in my phone’s contacts app - was this her old address or new address? It was hard to say. She hadn’t moved far, so I couldn’t decipher from the address alone. So I did a quick maps search to see if it looked to be in about the right spot. It looked good! I ordered the cookies and waited.

At the time of the scheduled delivery I got a call from a number I didn’t recognize, which I ignored. A minute later I got a text informing me that I had sent the cookies to the wrong address. Palm forehead! How had I done that?! I quickly called the delivery person and asked if they could still deliver the cookies. They said yes as long as it was close and I could get the address to them quickly.

I was frantic. I quickly text my other friends in the same friend group. Quick! Can someone send me her new address? I waited 30 seconds. No response. I really didn’t want to text her directly because it would ruin the surprise. But the clock was ticking and I needed an address. So I did what any rational person would do - I did a google search.

After several minutes of searching, and this time a google earth check to make sure the house looked right from the street, I was able to get her correct address and pass it on to the delivery person just in time. Phew, crisis averted! My friend got her (still) warm cookies and felt so surprised, supported and loved. Even though I was hours away, I was still able to connect with my friend just when she needed it most. It was just what I was hoping for.

Have you ever found yourself wanting to connect with a friend, but not doing it? Maybe you’ve wanted to send flowers after the birth of a baby, or send a care package when you know someone is struggling, or take them a gift for their birthday. You have wonderful intentions, but you never actually get around to turning intentions into reality. Would you be more likely to do so if you always knew you had their most current contact information? At Avenue, we say absolutely! A person’s address, phone number and other contact information represent the potential for connection that is always present, just waiting for action.

At Avenue, our goal is to give you so much confidence in that contact information, that you will always default to action. Send that card! Stop by for a visit just because you’re close by! These are the moments that make up our dearest and truest friendships. And with Avenue, they can be even easier because you can know you have the info you need right when you need it the most. If we can help facilitate even just a few extra of those interactions every year, we will feel like we have succeeded!