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I try my hardest to maintain eye contact with his parents as I feel the tears well up in my eyes.

They鈥檙e the ones who lost their college-aged son in a tragic way. Yet they鈥檙e practicing a near-impossible amount of strength 鈥� and I鈥檓 sitting here almost unable to look them in the eyes as I bury my head in my notepad to hide my tears.

The interview is one that I鈥檝e done too many times, followed by a story I鈥檝e written too many times.

Strong parents take time out of their day between the death of their child and the funeral to talk with me. Why? I don鈥檛 know.

This story isn鈥檛 going to be Earth-shattering. It won鈥檛 make lawmakers change laws or cause an uproar in the community or decrease crime or any of the things other types of stories do. But it will do something.

It sounds dark and morbid when I tell people that these moments, these stories are some of the most special ones in my decade-long career as a journalist.

No, I don鈥檛 enjoy telling the terrible stories of young people whose lives were lost way too soon.

But I do, however, appreciate that it鈥檚 always a therapeutic time for the families to remember their loved ones and share how they want them to be remembered by the community. That鈥檚 the 鈥渟omething鈥� this story will do 鈥� give a family a voice to speak about their child or grandma in a world where they are just another number on the list of people killed in a car crash or by gun violence.

As a journalist, you aren鈥檛 just someone who regurgitates what you鈥檝e learned. You鈥檙e a shoulder to lean on. You鈥檙e a listener to the voices that aren鈥檛 heard.

It never gets easier sitting down with a family whose son was brutally murdered or whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver. Ever. And over the years, I learned it was OK to cry with them.

I鈥檝e also learned one of the best communication tips is listening 鈥� not just talking. How are we expected to communicate if we can鈥檛 listen to others?

Our world is full of people who just want to insert their opinion or are waiting for their chance to talk, without listening to what was just said.

Those practices would never work in a setting where you鈥檙e interviewing someone who just lost a loved one 鈥� or, in a more relatable example for you, my reader, in a setting where you are in the presence of a friend who just lost someone close.

On a recent podcast 鈥� The Jefferson Fisher Podcast 鈥� I heard Fisher say that you should never say to people 鈥淟et me know what I can do鈥� after they鈥檝e lost someone they love. Why? Because it puts all the burden on them to reach out. We shouldn鈥檛 do that when someone is already dealing with a tough loss.

Just do the thing. Drop off the meal. Send their favorite flowers. Pick up their dry cleaning for the funeral.

In my role as a journalist, I took the initiative to interview families to give them the chance to tell their stories when they lost a family member. It wasn鈥檛 much 鈥� maybe an hour-long interview, then a few hours to write the story and make extra calls for more voices in the story.

But I learned quickly that it meant the world to people who I鈥檇 end up staying in touch with for years to come.

It was my way of lending a therapeutic hand to folks who were going through a tough time. Don鈥檛 get me wrong, I didn鈥檛 do these stories to get anything out of it 鈥� that鈥檚 unethical. I did it because who else would shed light on a life lost 鈥� particularly when tragedy happens in a tiny community that flies under the radar?

Most of you reading this aren鈥檛 journalists who can relate to my experience and have the chance to tell these types of stories. But you do have the chance to step up and be a great neighbor to those going through loss.

Listening when you communicate with them is key 鈥� and sometimes, that鈥檚 all they need. And remember, it may make their day if you pick up the dry cleaning, too.