Christmas Blessings | by Linda Brendle
Published in the Rains County Leader on December 22, 2022:
In spite of the fact that David and I are retired, there are very few days when we don’t have to get up, get dressed, and go somewhere. Monday morning, David goes by the church to upload Sunday’s sermon, Ladies’ Bible study is Wednesday morning, Sunday activities begin at 9:15 am, and the rest of the weekdays we try to get to the gym fairly early. That’s why I really look forward to those Saturdays when there is nothing on the calendar except drinking coffee in my pajamas and writing or reading. This Saturday wasn’t one of those days.
Nothing was on the calendar until 6:00 pm, but the first thing on my mental to-do list was a brief shopping trip. Brief or not, I’m not much of a shopper, so I wasn’t looking forward to the experience. One of my philosophies of life is to get the hard or unpleasant things out of the way first, so after a quick cup of coffee, I left my computer. I changed into “real” clothes, worked on my hair long enough to get rid of the bed head, and headed out.
At one point in my life I had a different purse for almost every outfit, but those days are long gone. Most of the time I don’t carry a purse, and when I do, I have one all-purpose bag that is neutral enough to go with almost anything in my wardrobe. The one that has held that honor most recently predates David, and we have been married for over 22 years. All things considered, it is in amazing shape with only some scuff marks on the bottom corners. But it is a double-handled tote-bag style, and in the last few months, the leather in both handles has cracked and the white stuffing is showing through. I considered using a black marker to cover up the stuffing, but several of my more fashion-minded friends have purse-shamed me, pointing out that Good Samaritan Thrift Store usually has a great selection of handbags.
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