The Strawberry Chapter 25

The Strawberry Chapter 25

Falls

By Katherine Aguilar

This Chapter goes over the stop-and-go of life. I use my life only as an example. Maybe I am wired differently than others because of my dyslexia. My responses are not the norm. It is as if I have two extremes: happy and sad. Quiet and loud.

Country

When growing up. I never understood that while growing up in the city, I was the only one with a country accent. I still find it very strange. I love listening to country music when I am in the mood. In college, my friends would go country dancing. The one who wasn’t even from the country, nor did she know how to dance country, because she was from a completely different side of the world, was the one flying in the air with a person. She didn’t even know what was happening. But when a mutual friend who is also from Texas asked her to dance. She thought it was going to be a lesson. She was the one two-stepping to the music, as for myself. I would try, and I would just be starting the two-step when the song was over. I couldn’t get to the beat for anything. I was busy laughing at how I had no beat or rhythm for anything. Watching one of my sisters fly in the air became one of her favorite memories.

Refined

Do not be so harsh on yourself for not being so refined as you may think

you should be. Over time, I am still not as refined as I should be. Maybe it is how I say things that causes them to stop looking at my faults and start enjoying my company. A person can be telling me off, and the way I put the sentence together will just throw them off so much that they forget they were telling me off and why they were angry in the first place. Still teach your children to be refined. We grew up to be refined. Most of our education came from private schools, regardless of whether we were as poor as dirt. I was the only one of my siblings who didn’t get the complete refinement as I should have. But I do have the refinessness in my trinket box. I do use it when necessary.

I am not fake when I am refined. It is not a complete side of me. One thing I can say I am not refined at. Is sneezing. Oh my goodness, you can hear me sneeze across the room, almost down the hall. I stopped apologizing for myself a long time ago. When you have to sneeze, you have to sneeze. If there is something in your life that you cannot control, let it go. You do not have to be in control all the time. Letting go of things is much healthier for you and releases you from any pains you may have carried over the years. Why carry them? Look at the manual; it tells you very clearly.

It was one thing that my mother had never heard of doing. It always wanted to be in control, and it made her miserable. As I mentioned in the previous chapter, I heard I would never when I was in the hospital all those years back. I decided right then and there. I didn’t need to be unhappy. I wasn’t in control of my life, and I just needed to go with the plan for my life. I didn’t need to be miserable; it was set before me, and I needed to follow. When people wanted to make me miserable, I did the opposite. I got happy. The more miserable they wanted to make me, the happier I got. It was how my wiring in my head is. I had every reason to be angry, but I held on to my faith. Being angry for a long time didn’t help me. That didn’t mean I didn’t give people a good earful, letting them know how I felt. It was just when they finally pushed me to my limit.

Everyone has their limits. I have apologized because the reprimand didn’t solve the problem. In fact, it created a bigger problem. I created a sin that I now had to apologize for, even though I had not said anything at all; I could have gotten more satisfaction. The best reply to a furious person. It is to say nothing at all.

The scripture in the Bible says when someone hits you on the cheek, turn and give them the other one. I keep that in my trinket box because it reminds me of the importance of kindness. If the world listened more and agrue less, it would foster understanding and compassion. I hope my readers feel encouraged to practice kindness, even in difficult situations.

Endurance

This is a valuable trinket to have. I actually thought of it last night, maybe because I was working at a job at a store that I truly didn’t care for for about three years. Working security. It gave me an opportunity to meet some interesting people and work with some interesting people. I learned how to work on my communication skills. Worked with people who to this day are friends. It is not because it was the best job. I am sure many wouldn’t find standing in front of the entrance of a store for eight hours the best career choice. But someone has to do it. The same for police officers. Who thinks police officers like driving all over the place, giving tickets all day long, and then on one of their turns, they stop a person and get shot? It is as if they live two extremes. They are recognized when they are dead, but are dreaded when they are stopped, giving them a ticket. They meet people. People have a love-hate relationship with people in all jobs, from attorneys to doctors, and the list goes on. Someone has to do the job, except that they are celebrated more than others because of their social status. It does tell you in the Bible to love one another as you love yourself. Try doing that; you will see it makes a difference in your life.

While working at this store, I laughed with people, cried, was scared with people, and prayed with people. I believe Jesus wasn’t using common sense. This is one story. A person came in, flipping out. In the thing class, where we were throwing things all over the place, I can say that glassware was a projectile all over the place, and we had to duck. Remember, I am security. Here I am running towards the nonsense, getting people out, while people were pulling out their phones. I would tell them, “Have you lost your mind! Get out!” Go through the fire exit. The crazy person came up to me. She told me. My reply was not to do anything at all. She left me because she was confused about why I didn’t reply. Still, glassware was flying all over the place. People finally all emptied out of the story. It was just the managers and a few cashiers left. I sure could leave. I am security. I thought to myself. This is beyond my pay grade. I am not a Police officer. The Police Officer gets their, and he too was having problems with the lady. I believe he had to call back up. Now imagine your job is security, and all you are supposed to do is stand for 8 hours and make sure no one steals a store item, and then you end up with this. That same person is willing to protect you, but you pass them by every day because you do not think they exist, because you just think they are “Just Security.” Remember, treat people how you would like to be treated. That is a major trinket box item.

Many people work jobs they do not care for, but over time, they have grown endurance because someone has to do them.

Homeless

When people look at a person who is homeless, there are assumptions right off the bat. As they are one drug, lazy, and have given up on life. Every person has a story. My story was that the apartment where I was living with my mother burned down. I lost everything. My sister was on vacation. I asked her if we could stay at her house while on vacation. She

said yes, only for use for two days at her house. An issue occurred, and we were out. All I wanted was a little time. To get another apartment. Mother chose to sleep in the car. I called people who were practically strangers, asking if I could sleep on their couch. I didn’t really know those people at the time, and they really didn’t know me. They just knew it was something their mother would've wanted them to do. Since I didn’t have a car, I took a car service to their place and stayed on their couch. I had a trash bag as my lounge. I still had a job, and I used the car service to get to and from work. They didn’t ask. Still, I would place money in the person who let me stay in their wallet. To cover some costs. I couldn’t cover much. Still, I put something. It was humiliating to be in this position. To be put in this position.

Still, I knew things would get better for my mother. She slept in the car and looked for an apartment. Write this because this is my story. Just imagine when you see a homeless person. You do not know their story. Don’t assume that is what they planned for themselves the morning they got up and went to work. I went to work one way and ended up a different way by the time arrived at a stranger's place. It is awful to be put in that position. It tells you in the Bible to do unto others as you would do unto you. I am no longer in the position. These strangers I now know and are friends with. The same people who visited me are the same people who helped me through my homelessness, cancer, and brokenness. They let me be a part of their family. When my mother died, they were the ones who were with me. For that, I am grateful.

Strangers can affect a person's life even though they have not been there. The love of my life comes from one person in this family.

Remember to listen when a person is broken and needing a friend.

to practice kindness and encourage compassion.

Starting new

From what I was sick and homeless to where I am now. I may not have taken many steps forward in my life. But I always managed to start over, even if it was with nothing. I could've taken the long road or the short road. Had I understood more. That goes back to looking back. I can not do that. Even now. When things seem clearer, I realize I will probably still make mistakes. I probably will go slower rather than faster. After the loss of someone you took care of, it is normal to start from kindergarten level again. For it is starting over to be your own person. Only now I realize I wasn’t supposed to start at kindergarten level. I was supposed to start at the university level and reach top speed.

Here I am picking up the pace.