Sophie's Story

   Yesterday evening C and I attended a visitation/wake. We did not know the woman who had died. Her son and daughter-in-law are our neighbors, since we believe in mourning with those who mourn it seemed best that we present our condolences in person.   We got dressed up and drove to the funeral home. The parking lot was packed. The woman who had died was the matriarch of a large close knit family. We expected a lot of cars. We found a place to park and went inside. It was bright and well lit. There were people standing in the large entryway. We saw one of our neighbors and went to her. I saw the stand with the guestbook and a place to leave cards. I signed the guestbook and gave Babette, our neighbor, a hug. She told us that her mother-in-law was a talented artist and that her works were displayed in the next room. She also pointed to her husband who was conversing with another man.   We walked up to Grant and shook his hand. He was dressed in a dark suit with a coloured shirt and

   Several months ago I got a message from a woman from church. Her husband's job required them to relocate to Texas. She was going through their belongings to find things that they would not need to bring with them. One of those items was an autoharp. She was wondering, since we are musical, would we want it? Of course we would take it. It didn't matter that neither C nor I really knew how to play an autoharp. All I knew was that an instrument was about to be orphaned. We needed to take it in and give it a good home.    We picked it up on a warm day. I was worried because it had been outside and we had had some rain.  It did not have a case. It was in a reusable shopping bag along with an instruction book and a tuning wrench. We brought it home and put it in the instrument room. For a long time it sat in the bag until we did some reorganization. Then we took it out of the bag and looked it over. It was dusty. I cleaned it off the best I could and lightly strummed it. It wa

   C was curious about what videos are on Amazon Prime, so he signed up for a free 30 day membership. One of the videos I was excited to watch was a 30 Day Yoga Challenge. It's 30 days of various yoga flows with bonus health tips at the end of each video. I had seen it before and wanted to do it, but really didn't want to have to pay for it if it turned out to be something I didn't like.   I've been doing it for about three weeks now and I like it a lot. The primary focus is that yoga is good for weight loss. My reason for wanting to do the challenge wasn't because of the weight loss. There is no way a short stubby person like me can suck down into what is considered a fashionable weight. My interest is in being healthy, fit and mobile.   I've found that doing this challenge is really helping me. I'd like to write about a few things that I've noticed as I go along in the challenge.    The first thing I noticed is that I simply felt better. It's

   Sandy sent me a text a month ago. She had received a call from a low vision support group that wanted a pharmacist to come and speak to them. Sandy didn't like public speaking and neither did Jill the other pharmacist. Would I be willing? The answer was an instantaneous yes. I would love to speak to the group. I had hoped that such an opportunity would come to me. A short while later I got a phone call. It was from the leader of the group. She gave me the address and information about what they wanted. They didn't want a prepared presentation. The wanted a question and answer session.   I spent the next few weeks doing a bit of research on a few eye related topics. I educated myself on the eye injections that are used to treat wet macular degeneration. (I didn't even know there were two kinds.) I was really looking forward to this opportunity. It's something I've always wanted to do.  When I worked at the independent pharmacy, the pharmacy manager had several

   I was in the emergency room with my friend, Ellen, when my phone vibrated. It was a text from  Micki. "My dad just passed away at about 10:30 tonight." I bowed my head for a moment. It was over. Her father finally succumbed to the aggressive brain tumor that had been diagnosed maybe two months earlier. I sent a message back. "I'm sorry. But he is at peace and with his Lord." Her response, "And I'm sure he's singing with the heavenly choir already" Mr. Sandstad liked to sing and play guitar. I told her I'd call her later in the morning and turned my attention toward the matter at hand.    Once we had seen Mac,Ellen's husband, settled in a room freshly diagnosed with the flu and bronchitis, we took Ellen home. Over breakfast I thought hard about something I could do to help Micki and her family. The Sandstads had been friends of the family when I was growing up. Mr. Sandstad was a good man and a gentle soul. Micki was very close wit

   One of my favorite scenes in the movie Moonstruck is when Rose Castorini (Olympia Dukakis) is standing in front of her house with Perry (John Mahoney) They had eaten in a local Italian restaurant together after Perry had an argument with his date. Rose invites him to sit with her so neither has to eat alone. After the meal Perry walks her home. Standing in front of her house he says that her family is home and she probably can't invite him in. She responds, "No,I think the house is empty. I can't invite you in because I'm married. Because I know who I am." I always loved that scene because I admire Rose's strength.   I believe that one of the gifts given to us as we grow older is a better knowledge of who we are. (Not to say this can't be found in younger people, but I seem to see it more in older women.) I've noticed that as I have gone through my 40s that I'm more comfortable in my skin. I'm not so worried about what others may think of