But the truth is that no good deed should be taken for granted, even if your best friend does it for you.
When my partner and I had a baby a year and a half ago, our world turned upside down. No longer in our 20s, we were very used to our freedom. In fact, for me personally, freedom means the most in the world. But once you hold your little one in your arms and get to know a tiny being who is totally dependent on you, you know you can say goodbye to her. Well, at least if you don't have the chance to ever feel the magic and beauty of freedom, when you could go wherever you wanted. But you can only have the occasional freedom if you are surrounded by people who love you, support you and help you as best they can, and you trust them completely.
My partner and I like to indulge ourselves with fine cuisine and going on trips, or at least excursions. The excellent Slovenian Restaurant Week project is so perfect for us, and in early spring that year, the opportunity to indulge our taste buds came up again... in Gorenjska. But how can we afford it when we have a baby who is not even half a year old? We could take him on a trip or a weekend break, but to pamper him in a top restaurant, in a so-called "restaurant". slow food? Is this even possible? It is if you get the right people to help you!
"Would you like to go on a short trip to Gorenjska, do you have time?", I asked my best friend Denis Stražar a few weeks before.
"You can. What's it about?" he asked me without hesitation and I told him that my partner and I would like to go to dinner at one of the top restaurants in Gorenjska, because we had got a voucher for it, but we realise that it is almost impossible for someone from Savinjska or Zasavje (we live in Žalec, Denis in Hrastnik) to drive there for just a few hours just to look after our baby.
"Of course I'll come!" he said without hesitation, "I would drive further if I had to." And so, on that beautiful Saturday, he drove from Zasavje to Gorenjska, and for an hour or two took on the role of babysitters. It was not easy for him, as he was not in the comfort of his own home, but in our hotel room, and the baby was very demanding. Despite the fact that he was drenched in sweat, because he had to be carried and soothed all the time while we were enjoying ourselves, and he had driven almost 100 kilometres, which took him two hours to drive (200 kilometres and four hours' drive in total, counting the round trip), he did not even want to take the money offered for travel expenses. He settled for a can of beer and a croissant from the grocery store, which he took, while we enjoyed our gourmet indulgence.
When I asked him how it was that he was willing to do us this favour, he replied with good humour: "It was not difficult for me to take some time to come to Gorenjska, but it meant a lot to you. I felt like I was going on a trip and doing something good along the way. Money is not everything. Just the fact that you were happy was enough, and I saw a little something. It was nice that they thought of me, that they trusted me so much. You don't trust just anyone with a child. You don't trust anyone for five minutes, let alone an hour."
So the next time your best friend does something nice for you, stop for a moment and feel gratitude - both for having them and for helping you. Having such good friends immediately makes the world a better place and life a much sweeter place.
Maja Horvat, 11 May 2025
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