See this little bank? It sat on the window sill of in the tiny little kitchen of the 800-square foot bungalow home I grew up in for as long as I can remember. There were never any pennies in it – just dimes and quarters. Mum saved as many as she could, and that provided some of the gas money we used to drive to and from Nova Scotia each summer.
My brother, sister, and I would use a kitchen knife to get the coins out because there was no cork in the bottom. The phone number on it made me chuckle because I can still remember phone numbers beginning with letters, and remembering mine by singing it!
“KE3-4053, KE3-4053, KE3-4053, that’s my telephone number!”
Well that little bank was in Mum’s throw-away pile recently, but I just had to have it. So now it’s sitting on my window sill, and I’ve begun saving dimes and quarters in it. I’m not quite sure what I’ll do with that spare change – maybe I’ll think of something “bucket-listish” to do with it. Or, maybe I’ll just enjoy the memory of how hard Mum & Dad worked, how they taught us to save, & how well they planned. Maybe I’ll save the change for a rainy day. Or maybe I’ll just cherish the memories that it brings – memories of long drives in the big blue Oldsmobile. Route 9 & its hills. Getting into Antigonish and heading up the hill to Aunt Jean’s house – or leaving town and waving to our cousins from the freeway when we could see them from their back porch.
My new (old) Wilson & Sons Dairy Co. bank brings back summer, after summer, after summer of simple family vacations, lots of favorite cousins, long drives, Wong’s Chinese Restaurant in Antigonish, BLT’s for every meal, lots of fiddle and piano music, step dancing, catching fireflies with cousin Eugene, and so many giggly aunts and uncles who were always full of fun shenanigans.
Life is so simple when we’re young, and then we slip so quickly into adulthood, stay crazy busy for decades, and time just seems to fly by. I’m at a season in life now where things seem to be slowing down a bit again and I am finally enjoying life’s pace returning somewhat to a more simple one – for now! That’s one of the things that this silly little bank reminded me of today, and for that I’m very grateful.
Oh – And I heard once that if you purchase gummy bears with spare change, the calories don’t count. Now, THAT’s an idea!
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