Blog Archives - trish hermanson

Tragedy at My Grocery Store

3/23/2021

The mass killing at King Soopers this week brought back a flood of memories because that’s where I shopped when Duane and I were first married. The store was close enough to our townhouse that I could walk there and carry my bags home. It’s right by the laundromat where I washed clothes each week, and it’s just across the street from the library where I checked out books.
     That neighborhood in the Rocky Mountains foothills continued to draw us even after our three girls were born and we relocated a few miles away. We found a pediatric dentist just up the hill from King Soopers, so after checkups we’d stop off to buy milk and eggs. A smiling checker dug pennies out of her pocket and handed one to each girl to ride the mechanical horse - the cheapest entertainment in town.
     One day while the girls and I were inside the store, a rainstorm moved across the Rockies, pelting the roof with torrents. No problem. We sheltered inside until it slowed to a drizzle, then we dashed through puddles to the car.
     What memories a store evokes when it anchors a neighborhood. What a tragedy today, because the death of ten souls is more than a statistic. It’s a wound. This is our store - all of us. We all have a King Soopers. So today I weep like the rain that pummeled the roof when we sheltered there from the storms of life.
     ***
  Photo: screenshot, CBS Channel 4/Denver. Please share. previous thoughts are at TrishHermanson.com.

How I Discovered Treasures in Darkness

3/19/2021

Following cancer surgery recently, I recalled my exploration in South Dakota’s Jewel Cave, the third largest underground chamber in the world. As I descended into the damp cavern, gloom wrapped around me - nothing but darkness and eerie silence. Then a guide shot a beam of light at a cave wall, and calcite crystals sparkled back - treasures in darkness.
     Lately I’ve experienced so much confusion with cancer. How does this impact my future? How should I treat it? Lots of contradictory advice.
     Yet occasionally gems sparkled in the darkness. Like the time a friend said I’d been on her mind, so she prayed; she didn’t know I was undergoing grueling medical tests. Another day a neighbor left a bouquet of flowers on our front step. A cheery card arrived in the mail. An encouraging email popped up. And supportive comments poured onto Face Book. I’m humbled by such kindnesses that inched me forward through the dark tunnels of cancer.
I remember God’s statement to the king of the Persian Empire more than two thousand years ago: “I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord.”
     Perhaps this is one reason I experience dark times - to discover that when all else is murky, I can be confident that God still rules.
You’ve shown me great compassion during this time. Thank you. I hope to pass it along to others when they are trapped in darkness.

How This Extraordinary Rose Spoke to Me

3/8/2021

All within a week, I scheduled cancer surgery, scheduled a pre-op visit, scheduled a visit to get a radar chip implanted in me prior to surgery, and scheduled a COVID test. I took other medical tests, visited a chiropractor and a dentist, and got jabbed for a COVID shot.
     Sometimes I wonder whether I’ve reached a point that it becomes unhealthy to give so much attention to being well.
     Which is why this rose spoke tenderly to me as I touched its petals. It was shut tight when I brought it home.Then it opened, showcasing exuberant colors and filling the kitchen with an intoxicating fragrance. Inevitably, its leaves fell and its petals browned, but its tantalizing aroma lingered.
As I continue to age, I want to exude a lingering scent like this rose. A fragrance of hope from the only source of true hope - God.
     Even as this body withers, my inner self can bloom.

Why Pick Up the Fork in the Road?

3/2/2021

“If you come to a fork in the road, pick it up,” baseball great Yogi Berra said. I’ve pondered this wisdom through the years as we moved to new cities where new jobs and new neighborhoods brought new choices - forks in the road.
     Today with COVID, sometimes I feel like choice has disappeared and I’m trapped in an eternal waiting room. Waiting to give hugs to family members. Waiting to see friends. Waiting to shop and travel freely. Waiting for life to begin again. I don’t see forks in the road, only blockades.
     But perhaps I’m missing some opportunities - the forks in the road I can pick up. Like calling a friend. Or sending a card to someone who crosses my mind. Or even cleaning the smudges off the refrigerator.
     I don’t have to wait for the future for opportunities. The future is the next moment TODAY.