Out with the Old, In with the New....

by Deborah

For some time now, Emily has been ridiculing the condition of my wallet.  With justification.  Not only is it bulging and overstuffed, it is old and faded, with frayed edges, leather that has worn through, and a zippered compartment so torn that things fall out or catch in the zipper. She begged me to find a respectable replacement, something at least presentable, since she despaired of me ever finding something actually fashionable.

Ok, she might have a point

It is surprisingly difficult, however, to find a wallet that meets all my requirements.  It has to be large enough to carry everything--and I carry a lot--but small enough to fit in a normal sized purse.  I need it to have a coin purse, a photo display, pockets for credit cards, an easily accessible pocket for my driver's license, a place to tuck a checkbook and register, and I like for there to be a zippered area with several sections for money and coupons and business cards.  This apparently is too much to ask of most wallets.  I looked.  Emily looked.  No luck.

Lately, I have been feeling like I need to make some changes in my life.  One of the best ways to do this is often to begin with something symbolic.  For women, that usually means handbags.

I'm not a purse fanatic, but I do like them to be nice, and now that I'm a parent, roomy.  My last purchase was an impulse buy at a sidewalk stand in NYC, a structured brown bag that I gave to myself, although the tag on my Christmas box said it was from my toddler girls. 

Old Faithful

Over the course of the last two years, however, this bag has weathered a lot, and not being super-high quality to begin with, is definitely showing some wear, with a cracked strap and fraying edges, dulled material, and a distinct slump.  Like me, it's just too tired to stand up straight anymore.  Not to mention, it has that Old Purse Syndrome of stray items lost at the bottom: crumpled receipts, broken makeup, bits of crayons, and a heavy dusting of something I'm going to optimistically assume was crackers.

Ouch

So I've been in the market for a wallet and a purse for quite a while now, but I didn't want to just settle for anything.  I wanted some very specific things, and I was determined to wait until I could find them.  Well, today I took the plunge.

OOOOHHHH PREETTTTTYYYYY

I really like the soft leather, the size, the length of the straps, and the color of the purse.  It makes me happy.  I probably wouldn't have normally chosen a purple wallet, but I liked the layout of this model, and I think the color makes it zing against the butter yellow of the purse.

As women, we often say things like "I carry my LIFE in this purse."  And we do:  our ID, our makeup, our cellphones, our to-do lists, our money, our keys, kids' items, snacks, reading material, pictures of our children, pens and notebooks, and other things we'd perhaps rather not admit to stashing.

So it seems appropriate to me that since I am seeking to change some things in my life, the first step is finding an appealing way to carry it around with me.  It feels lighter, fresher, newer.  I hope it is the beginning of a lighter, fresher, newer--and more organized, less crackercrumbly--me.