Life Can Be Tough … Thank God for Friends

It is nearing the end of October and I am busy teaching and working at Target. It is what I wanted… to be busy. I should be happy, or at least content. That was what my head was telling me. However, that is not how I was feeling. I was in a constant battle with myself knowing how I should feel and how I actually felt. I was not used to being lonely. I like alone time, but choosing to do a couple of things alone and being lonely are two different things. I learned at a young age to be internally tough. As I mentioned early on, I am a private person and keep a lot of my life and my feelings to myself, but I was not used to not having a lot of friends and family around me and at least talking to me about their lives.

Lawyerboy was becoming busier and busier. His Civil Procedures professor gave them an ungraded mid-term and he said, “I did terrible.” Thankfully it was ungraded, but that added more pressure to study harder and wonder how this whole law school thing was going to work out! He was also preparing to write his memo in a couple of weeks. He was feeling bad that I was working non-stop and I was feeling bad that he felt bad, so I really tried to just go through the motions and be okay with feeling lonely.

I got the most uplifting card in the mail at just the right time. My friend, who I have known since I was in the fourth grade and she was in the second, sent me a ‘Life can be tough, but you can be tougher’ card. It was from Erica. She and I went to the same elementary school for a couple of years. When it closed down, she went to another school, but her and her family continued to come to the same church that we went to. Erica, along with her mom, dad, and two brothers, sat in the pew in front of us for years and years. We lost touch a little when they decided to go to church in the same town they went to school in. One of her best friends in her later years of high school and college was Melissa. Erica went to college in Bismarck, but would come back to see Melissa in Minot and her family in rural North Dakota. When Melissa and I lived together, Erica and I started seeing more of each other and became friends again.

She married her high school sweetheart, Burton. They got married three months after us and the four of us went to Jamaica at the same time for our honeymoons. We had a great time with them in Jamaica, and any time we are together, we have a nice time.

Erica and I have the best heart to hearts. She and I have a strong faith in God, cherish our family, and believe things happen for a reason. In fact, that is what she wrote in her card to me! She told me to trust God and that there is a plan. Her card absolutely made my week! I put it up on my dresser so I saw it every single morning.

We are alike in a lot of ways, but also very different. We definitely have different beliefs on certain issues. However, we respect each others opinions. She and I like dessert, but one difference is that she only eats a few bites and I eat the whole piece and more sometimes! On occasion, and when necessary, I have eaten my piece and the rest of hers! One of our favorites is Strawberry Pretzel Dessert. It is salty and sweet, and oh so good!

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert

Preheat oven to 325 degrees – Bake: 7 minutes – Prep Time: 30 to 45 minutes – Serves: 12 to 15 pieces

2 to 3 cups pretzels, crushed

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 tablespoons sugar

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (9 ounce) container Cool Whip

1 cup sugar

2 cups water

2 (3 ounce) boxes strawberry Jell-O

16 ounces frozen strawberries

1 (9 ounce) container Cool Whip, if desired for topping

This is a layered dessert. Start with the crust. I measure a heaping 2 cups of pretzels and put them in a Ziploc bag. Then, I roll over them with a rolling-pin. Next, I melt a stick of butter. You can melt the butter in a saucepan or in a microwavable safe bowl. I melt the butter in the microwave. It takes about 33 seconds if the butter is already softened. I add the 3 tablespoons of sugar to the butter and mix them together. Then, I add the crushed pretzels and coat them well. Place this mixture on the bottom of a 9 X 13 cake pan. Bake for 7 minutes in a 325 degree oven. Let cool.

Next, put one package of softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl. I give it a really good stir before I add anything to it. I do the same with the Cool Whip before I add it to the cream cheese. I mix it well in its container with a spatula and then add it to the cream cheese. I mix that until smooth. Last, add one cup of sugar and mix very, very well. Once the pretzel crust is cool, add the cream cheese mixture on top and spread smoothly. I plop dots of the mixture all over and then use a spatula to spread it evenly to make the second layer.

Heat two cups of water in a saucepan until it boils. In a small glass bowl, empty two packages of strawberry Jell-O. Once the water boils, slowly pour over the Jell-O and mix until it is dissolved. Then, add the frozen strawberries. Put this bowl in the fridge to let it semi-set. You don’t want it runny because it will seep down the sides and make your dessert soggy. You also don’t want it completely set, because then it is harder to spread evenly across the cream cheese layer. My fridge is set on a pretty cold setting. It took 15 minutes to set. In other fridges I’ve used, it has taken over an hour. Continue to check on it by giving it a little stir. When it is the right consistency, give it a good mix so some of the strawberries mix to the bottom. Then, scoop it on top of the cream cheese layer and spread evenly across. Lastly, I add a layer of Cool Whip to the top. Once again, I give it a good stir in the container and spread it across the top.

I love dessert. If I could only have one for the rest of my life, it would be tough for me to choose, but I would probably choose this. I can and have eaten it for breakfast and later on in the same day for dessert.