Sophie's Story

   Today is my 48th birthday. Things happened this year that I didn't expect. I thought that this birthday was going to be like all the other birthdays the past 11 years. I'd be working a ton of hours at the old store and would have requested the day off for my birthday hoping that my request would be granted.    Things took a dramatic change and I am not there anymore. I'm not working as many hours and that had given me some time to think. This time I have to pause and reflect has made me realize a few things.   I came to the conclusion that I've done a lot of things out of fear. I've stayed in jobs that had less than ideal working conditions out of fear of being unemployed. I stayed in an abusive relationship because of fear and because I thought as long as I stayed in this relationship I was normal. I worked way too many hours ignoring my family,my house and myself because there wasn't enough help and I was obligated pick up the slack.   In short, I have

"While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us, teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways" Thomas S. Monson     C and I were married in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We did so at the demand of my mother who insisted that one of her children be married in a church.  We were required to take an eight hour marriage class before we could be married.      The teacher was good, but the class at least for us, was mostly a waste of time. It was geared to younger adults in their 20s who were getting married for the first time. There were discussions of finances , starting a family and buying a home. There was very little that applied to us. There was nothing about how to deal with stepchildren, ex-spouses or disapproving in-laws. There was nothing that helped

   Normally I try to steer away from serious topics on a weekend column. However I'm trying to figure out how I feel about something and writing helps me to do that.  It also wouldn't hurt  to maybe hear about the subject from real people.   Before I launch into my subject I want to set some ground rules. If you comment please be civil. No profanity, no name calling and no personal attacks. Disagree all you want. Point out flawed thinking or reasoning when you see it. All I ask is that people be nice to each other.    There has been a lot of things written about removing statues and other items that commemorate the Civil War from public areas. The reason given is that these types of public artwork are offensive and glorify the Confederacy. It is also a rallying point for white supremacists and groups that share their beliefs. I even saw one comment that said that the losing side of any war is never allowed to erect any kind of memorials.   On one hand I can see where the a

   One advantage to working part time is the opportunity to do things I've never done before. Today C and I went to a Minnesota Twins game at Target Field.   The last time I went to a Twins game was long before I was married. They were still playing in the Metrodome. Our seats were so far up and so far away that one wouldn't know baseball game was going on. Needless to say it was not much fun.   For awhile there it looked like we might not get to go. Target Field is an open air venue. If it rains, then the game would have been cancelled. It did rain in earlier in the morning, but by the time the game was supposed to start the chance of rain had gone down quite a bit.   We were going to go with a family we know from church. We decided that the best way to get there was on the light rail system. I was excited to ride the light rail again. We had done it before once when we went downtown to eat a few years back. The trains are clean and get you where you want to go fairly qui

   Shortly before my last week of work at my old job, C  told me he had someone he wanted me to meet. A new pharmacy had opened about six months ago in a nearby town. He had spoken to the pharmacist there to see if there was a job opening. He was so impressed with her that even though she did not say they needed any help, he wanted me to meet her. After Toastmasters we drove to the pharmacy. The moment I walked into the store I liked it. It was small and quiet. Obviously there was not much business going on. For some reason that didn't bother me. I could see a lot of potential there.   The pharmacist, Nora, came out to greet us. We introduced ourselves and talked for a little bit. From the little I heard I could tell that I would like Nora. Although she is younger than I am, she is very mature. She'd worked in some tough areas and had been a manager. It was a pleasant conversation. She was going on vacation for a week. She said we could set up an interview when she returned.

   I know I said I was going to work on the sock drawer. I had every intention of spending as long as it takes to get that drawer into shape. I decided to do something else instead.   On Friday, the sun was out. It wasn't supposed to rain. We were housebound due to the large dirt pile directly in front of our driveway as the county crew was preparing to put in the new street. I decided that it was a good time to go and pull a few weeds.   I put on a T-shirt and old pair of workout capris. C suggested that I wear gloves, but I didn't want to. I wanted to get my hand in the dirt. I can't feel anything with gloves on and I don't feel like I can grip anything with gloves on. I also went barefoot. Maybe this would be a chance to get rid of those sandal suntan lines off my feet.   I went out to survey the territory. I soon realized that this was going to be more than just pulling few weeds. The entire garden was covered, completely covered with crabgrass mixed with a few

   I am on my quest to bring more order to our home. I decided to start with the living room closet. I've had my eye on that closet for several years. It's one of those spaces that we keep putting things in it without really thinking about it.   The first thing I did was to take everything out of it. Everything. I started on the top shelf. There were candles. There were votive cups and tealight holders. There was a large glass piece that you put a tealight in and use it to keep a pot of tea warm. I remembered this piece. My Dad brought it for me when he went on a trip to Germany with my uncle.   There were two candles that  looked like jars of fruit. There was another one that had some sort of scented oil and wax flowers in it. I found an oil candle and several unused pillar candles.    There were two tart burners. A tart burner is a contraption in two parts. The top part is a shallow dish. You put tarts, or squares of scented candle wax, in this dish. You set in on the ba