You never know what burdens someone else is carrying.

That was essentially the tagline on a friend’s email for while.  I thought it was a really good tagline.  It really expresses a lot that I just cannot put into words. 

However, I have a “story” of sorts.  It is a picture I have put together based on random comments from different perspectives.

The husband of one of my wife’s friends was part owner of his own business.  He was able to take care of his wife and 3 children.  In short, he had a successful career.  3 years ago they left comfortable lives and friends in a distant community and moved back to Nashville.  I assume that it was so that she could help take care of her parents. His wife did not earn an advanced degree until recently and has started her own business in the last few years.   I would assume that he provided for them very well and there was no need.

He now bags groceries.  It is now difficult for him to talk and bag groceries at the same time.  They moved him to bagging because he was having difficulty in other parts of the store.  He has difficulty working hard enough for his employer to hire him for more than a few hours each week.  (They do not fire people, at this location; they just reduce your hours and hope you get the message.)  He still has one child in high school.  They are moving away again so that she can get a job with health insurance and earn enough money to keep the family going.  (His ex-business partner offered her the job and I think she will be a good fit for the work.)

She is very kind and private.  With her sunny disposition, you would never know the troubles and the many issues she is juggling.

He is quietly bagging groceries.  His fellow co-workers don’t know about his former life and make comments about the guy who is “not grocery store material.”  He may not quite have the sunny attitude of of his wife; maybe because each day he faces the personal embarrassment of knowing how much less he can do today than even a few short years ago or possibly the embarrassment of being a guy and no longer providing for your family.

I’ll let you be the judge.