Literature Loves Company

And it all started when my husband insisted I wear red I was on a Zoom call with Sothy when a man in a tuxedo opened my office door and asked, “Can we sing?” We? He opened the door wider. Four others were behind him. I was too startled to say no. Sothy, a friend I write with most Fridays during our lunch break, stayed on the Zoom call, having a front-row seat to the dramatic surprise. They…

A blessing 31—or more—years in the making I’ve known my newest daughter-in-law longer than I’ve known my son—or husband. So crazy, right? But it’s true! This latest fun fact about me feels like God is nudging me, saying, “See? I know your heart. I’ve got you. I always did.” And even though it took two deaths and two marriages—one on December 1, 2025—to get to this point of the story, I can’t…

A journey of faith, friendship, and fulfillment Gorgeous Sorgius! I didn’t say that when I introduced myself to him, but it was my first thought. Had we called him that to his face? It was the perfect rhyme and made his a name I would not forget. “I’m Sara… Souders,” I said, almost forgetting to provide my maiden name instead of Dagen. “I remember,” Mike Sorgius said. Did he? I’d been a…

“You’re becoming a mummy.” So said my husband before rolling away from me in bed. Moments before, he’d been fast asleep, so I quietly donned the rest of my nightly attire and joined him. He’d awakened only long enough to see me in all my glory, make his statement laden with disappointment, and close the door to romance. Apparently, mummies aren’t sexy. You see, when others might get their…

And the loss when I must do the heavy lifting on my own The music blaring in the locker room stopped, the silence golden for a brief five seconds. Then the speakers crackled to life again. “…say some doors just have to close…” Silence. “…don’t tell you how it feels when memories…” A full seven seconds later: “…distance slowly steals…” The over-loud speakers continued this irregular…

It’s just one sentence, but it reminds me to accept aging (and my older self!) with grace “You don’t look a day over fabulous.” I nearly cried. No one spoke those words to me, but I read them. In typewriter print. On an otherwise plain white mug. When I reached for it, I saw its beautiful teal interior and the words on the rim, “That’s all.” Then I looked at the price tag, $14.99. For a mug I…

I don't like spiders or snakes -- or frogs or toads! But they do teach me a lesson.

I’d intended to feed my cat, but I fed my husband’s appetite for teasing instead. As I reached to add cat food to Trouble’s bowl in the wee, dark morning hour, something splashed in the water bowl next to it. Startled, I lurched backward, nearly losing the food container. My husband–on the other side of the glass door–did lose it, laughing at my awkward lunge. “What was that all about?” Steve…

I’m trying to learn how to travel light My goal was to have less luggage when I traveled to visit friends and family, and since I wasn’t flying and had no size limitations (and no TSA inspection, the bane of my traveling existence), I packed large luggage. In my largest suitcase, I packed four days’ worth of clothes—and my entire garment bag—along with my toiletries. The suitcase was bigger…

I wrote this story as part of my homework for Susie H. Baxter's memoir writing course. The author of Write Your Memoir: One Story at a Time encouraged us to write a two-page story about a person who changed our lives, and the above is the story I shared i

“If I die, I want you to marry again.” His nine words seared my heart. He meant them to be kind, but they were so unwelcome. We had celebrated our “hello forever” day two years before – why was he saying this now? Amid his illness, I wanted hope. And a future. With Bill Olson. Not goodbye. Wildwood, NJ, 1987 We’d met four years earlier – the summer of 1987 – in Wildwood, New Jersey. He’d…

Here I capture a frustrating ordeal resolving my husband's phone issue, from conflicting advice to lost data. It took multiple days -- and intense emotions -- despite seeking help from multiple parties before the phone was working (and my tears dried).

My husband’s cell phone wasn’t the only thing that needed to be unlocked “Before I do this factory reset, will this unlock my phone if that ends up being the problem?” I typed into the Samsung chat, nearly three hours after it had started. “It will unlock the device please try that,” the Samsung Pro typed, ignoring my fears along with proper punctuation. Noman was the first and fifth such pro…

I can’t even pass the pre-test I can’t prove who I am. At least to TSA. I went — driver’s license, birth certificate, and two marriage certificates in hand — to my pre-scheduled TSA Pre-Check appointment (available for a limited time at an airport near me!). And I was denied. Apparently, the document I’ve used as proof of my birth my entire life is not a “birth certificate” but a proof of…

It was an early morning opportunity for answered prayer and so much more I was sitting in the rocking chair journaling my request to God. “Father, I would like to do the writer’s retreat this weekend, but I need to ask Steve. Please help me find the time.” I had wanted to ask him in person, but it was 4:30 in the morning. On Friday. Before a Saturday morning event. I would be leaving in an…

The story of the ultimate matchmaking feat of all time -- two 'happily ever afters' joined in one weekend. And all because of a missing leg. It only took Adam a rib to get his mate.

It cost Adam a rib to get his perfect match, but God used a leg to match these 2 couples “Aaaaaaaaaah!”   The scream interrupted our sister-to-sister conversation, intensifying as frantic feet raced toward us.  My niece and her younger brothers burst into the den.   “Somebody’s under the bed!” Megan cried.   Half concerned, half thinking these children were looking for an excuse to delay…

Baby steps and learning the problem isn’t somebody else “Father, she’s driving me crazy,” I had written in my journal, following a week of being coerced by a persistent, nagging colleague who had returned from vacation with a deadline pending.  A deadline that included me. I’d completed her marketing project before she left for vacation — and she’d approved it — but she had come back with…

I know I need to be fully reliant on God's strength to live as a Christian each day, but I haven't mastered being "well pleased with weaknesses." Maybe my hand -- recovering from surgery -- can help me with this.

If only I could learn to be ‘well pleased’ with my weaknesses “Do you want me to cut your meat for you?” I’d chosen meatballs labeled “tenderloin” from the buffet, but tender they were not. I’d hoped they might be easily cut with a fork. But no. These were gray balls of tough, overcooked steak, and I had only a fork and butter knife to saw bits off each lump. One-handed. Maybe one-and-a-half…

I think Becky asked if she could disciple me, but it sounded a lot like, “Would you like fries with that?” I said yes, of course. I did have fries with my McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese that Wednesday evening. It was a meal to change my life – because it was followed by so much more. “Follow me as I follow the Lord,” she might have said. I did and do – and I know I am who I am today is…