Trish Hermanson's Blog: Croutons - Seasoned Bits of Life, page 23

Are You a 'Derful'?

     My niece Julie was assigned to be a Derful in a handbell choir. She was in charge of two bells she rang consecutively in the song “Wonderful Christmas Time.” Another musician rang a bell on the syllable “won,” then Julie came in with “derful.”
     Being a Derful can be thankless, yet it’s a role we all play at times. Derfuls are those who are part of something bigger than themselves. The invisible ones who cast others into the limelight. The pit crews. The stage hands. The altos su...

Am I an Evergreen?

     Bernice is an evergreen, freshness wafting from her boughs even though she’s ninety-five.
     If my mother-in-law isn’t rolling out Norwegian lefsa bread with an alcoholic woman to give her something productive to do, she’s encouraging a man whose wife was brutally murdered to let go of bitterness “or it’ll destroy you.”
    I’ve known Bernice for decades, and during that time her guest bedroom has been open to college students searching for a home-away-from-home, and her kitchen t...

Are Your Family Reunions Crazy?

     Family reunions can be as crazy as this octopus I met at an aquarium. His arms flung this way and that while his body appeared to search for which way he was going.
     Our family reunions are like that, where the age range is from newborn to ninety-five. It’s like herding an octopus to coordinate any activity because family members are flying in all directions around the house.
     A Voice of Authority announces, “In ten minutes we’ll leave for a hike.” A scurry erupts to find soc...

How's Your Harvest?

      During this harvest season, I’m examining what kind of crop I produced from seeds I planted this year.
     What about work projects? Some new beginnings. Some projects completed. A good yield here.
     How about seeds I planted from giving away time, talents, and encouragement? I gave an elderly woman a ride one day. I helped a neighbor with some landscaping. I told a designer what a fantastic job she did. Good seeds. Good harvest. In little ways, I made the world a better place....

When Gotta Do's Gotta Go

     I blow my nose and lift the Kleenex away. It’s red - a bloody nose.
     What’s this? A sign of “the thing” that’s going to take me out eventually? I hope not.
     I have to get the bloody thing stopped, so I stuff a Kleenex up my nostril, lay on my back on the bed, and hang my head over the edge. That should dam the flow, but an acrid taste trickles down my throat.
     Hanging my head is an exercise I’m supposed to do every day anyway, to keep my neck from jutting forward. It’s to...

How I Struck Out

     Her name came to mind as quietly as a cat walking.
     “Susan.”
     She’s a friend I’d made in stretching class at the rec center. A vibrant redhead, she would kid me about my impossible dream of reaching down and actually touching my toes. Susan could. After class, she’d head to the machines for weight training. She always attacked life head on.
     One day Susan walked into class with her usual determined grin and announced to everyone she had fourth-stage lung cancer. She’d neve...

Am I a Loser?

     The old voice has been shouting in my head again  - “You’re a loser.”
     It’s been screaming that all my life. When I was in grade school, it declared I was a loser because I couldn’t jump rope. As an adolescent, the score card changed, and I was a loser because my face was an acre of zits. In high school, the report card shifted again: the winners were the cheerleaders, those who had cars and boyfriends. I wouldn’t dare try out for cheerleading, my father drove me to school, and...

Will a $9 Billion Party Chase Away Our Blues?

     Welcome to our $9 billion party promising to lift us from the weariness of hurricanes and nuclear threats and a constipated Congress and wildfires. That’s how much the National Retail Federation projects we’ll dish out for Halloween this year, a record high. We’ll spend $3.4 billion for costumes; $2.7 billion for candy; $2.7 billion for decorations; and $0.4 billion for cards.

MONEY PIT
     We’re more than ready to set aside our melancholy by donning a Wonder Woman or Spider-Man cos...

How Are Worms and Angels Alike?

     I rescued this fellow who had wriggled onto the asphalt after a rainstorm and was destined to dry up. He’s worth saving. After all, he’s a matchbox-size earth mover who prepares soil so it yields green grass and bumper crops.
     And he’s not alone. According to Amy Stewart in The Earth Moved, 5.2 million worms are in an acre of rich garden soil that is one foot deep. Wow - that’s a lot of assistance I didn’t even ask for.
     These guys, who are mostly invisible as they go about t...

Is Grief Good?

     I’m swamped with grief these days from hurricanes and the mass shooting. And then grief broke into my friend’s home, an uninvited guest that refuses to leave. It haunts her with the image of the young face that won’t be in the next family photo. For another friend, grief stole his wife of forty years. An unfathomable loss.
     I’m awkward with those who sorrow. I make mistakes, just as others have made with me when I’ve been in anguish. Grief camped in my home awhile back. One frie...