Change is Good


I briefly experimented with a smaller purse this weekend.

The over night bag that I carry now is becoming in my mind like a heavy pleather jacket, fine when its cold out but now that it’s warmer I’m looking for a sun dress to carry. I have such a purse in my closet.

It’s cute, it’s springy and it’s the size of a change purse.

I had to downsize and I wasn’t happy about it.

Me - I can do this. I only really need my wallet and check book anyway. I do not need to carry around all this shite.

The Over Night Bag - You really don’t think you need this note pad? It’s damn useful and handy too.

Me - No, if I need to I can use the back of a receipt.

TONB - That you will store... Where?

Me - I do not need three pens.

TONB - Really? I don’t think any of those are going hungry.

Me - because they get lost, they get buried under all the crap I carry around. I need one pen and it can ride in the check book. It’s not the space, it’s how you use it.

TONB - Sure. Do you plan on accessing your sunglasses this summer?

Me - I wear clip on’s, they’re very narrow.

TONB - Yeah. You’ve gotten really used to just dropping them through the zipper. How does the other purse work?

Me - It has the cutest little hinges!

TONB - So. It’s open or it’s closed. Right?

Me - Like any purse.

TONB - So you can wander around with it on your arm and just drop things into it?

Me - Well, no, of course not. It’s not like that.

TONB - Sounds really convenient.

Me - It’s a safety issue.

TONB - Uh Ah. Well, what happens if its not closed all the way? What happens then?

Me - Then it only happens once. I should pay more attention.

TONB - Where are you going to keep your keys? You just going to carry those in your hand all the time?

Me - No, all I have to do is find a flat surface and ...

TONB - Sounds real convenient.

Me - I can downsize.

TONB - Hmmm. Can you fit that DVD in there? The one you’re going to return when you pass a mail box?

Me - I can mail them from home. Or they can ride shot gun.

TONB - In the summer? You want to leave a DVD in the car all day.

Me - DVDs not VCR tapes.

TONB - How about that book you take to lunch. Isn’t it more convenient to stash it away when you go to run errands or do you like having to make a special trip out to the car to get rid of it.

Me - I can’t take my soda into the stores either. It’s not a special trip to get rid of my book. Gah.

TONB - Have you thought about the lack of a zipper compartment?

Me - It has a pocket.

TONB - Yeah. Do you really want to share with the bag boy why you bought that tub of frosting?

Me - Do you mind!

TONB - How about that lip stick you carry just in case or the breath freshener, or that folding fan, those bills you want to mail, or the travel bottle of asprin or that rosary or your work ID or that travel umbrella or your cell phone?

Me - Simplify, simplify, simplify. It’s good for the soul. Discovering what you need and don’t need... Lightening your load is good for you, body and mind.

TONB - You know that cute little thing is older than you are?

Me - Age begats wisdom.

TONB - It’ll never last. You’ll be back.

I wisely came back after a day and a half. I'm not ready to downsize yet.