I am standing stock still in a room set to the aside in an urban church in Minnesota - all around me the air stirs with a light tangy fragrance. My eyes search over the landscape of stands and shelves of lightly used and new women's clothing. The fragrance in the air reminds me of the air of a closet in the spare bedroom of my home. I am referring to the closet where I keep my overflow of clothes. It is hard to imagine that I can use the term overflow today when at 19 years old I stood in another room with a similar tangy fragrance to it.

The line of my back and the shape of my shoulders is today what it was then, but my hair is now shorter and tinged lightly with maturity. My hazel green eyes are as intense now as they were then - often filling with concern or passion for some task at hand. But then, I was a 19 year old mother pulling together a wardrobe to find a job.

I stood in the aisle of gently washed and tossed used underclothes in a Goodwill store in Ohio. My lower lip trembled slightly with embarrassment as I snuggled my hand through the used clothing looking for the nearest new I could find - something feminine with a flower border or touch of silk. Of course, not a lot came to the surface matching my criteria because my budget was 25 cents a pair and this was 34 years ago.

But I did find just enough - just enough did nicely then. I left the store with three cotton dresses, a slip, three bras, 5 pairs of panties, one pair of high heel shoes and a small purse. The tab came to less than $30.00 and it was a hard $30.00 to part with. I still have a picture of me standing in the office of the company where I began work, in a long green trim fit cotton dress... smiling back at the camera, standing between my boss and another worker. I was employed, I was a provider, I was on my way to a super charged career. And, today I am considered a successful career woman. M store of choice is Nordstrom's where the tab can run a bit higher than $30.00 many times over. I don't mind, I have the income to pay the bill - my wardrobe is never gently used, always brand new, classic cut and feminine.

So, today, I have an opportunity to give to other women who find themselves standing stock still in a room with a slight tangy fragrance. I have sent a box of lightly used, but beautifully crafted career women clothes to a "Ready for Success" shop in a small urban church in Minnesota. My clothes will be passed on to working women who will be entering or returning the work force in a similar journey as I did 34 years ago. They will be able to stand tall in their new jobs, no one will know where the new suit came from or what it cost... they will be on equal ground - starting their new journey to a super charged career. You go girls.