“That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest.” Henry David Thoreau
Pencil Me In!
I wrote this long ago . . .
I can still remember the third and fourth grade--those were the years I really felt sorry for myself--as sorry and I'm ever going to feel. Going to school in a wheelchair didn't help the third grade, and wearing a funny corset with "built on" crutches made me look a little like the Notre Dame hunchback of the fourth grade.
And all of this was exacerbated (if you had told me then I would ever know what that word meant, I would have argued with you) by the fact that one or two in the class had enough money to buy pencils with their names on them! Yep, if you had asked me in third grade, just what I thought of communism, I might have been dumbfounded, not being sure of its basic doctrine. But, if you had explained that it might allow me to have beautiful pencils, just like Brenda's, I would have bought into it.
Well, years have passed and life moves on. I have seen my share of financial ups and downs. I have made sacrifices so my child could go on the class field trip. I have foregone a dress here and there, because the grocery budget was low. But, now I have reached a certain point in the financial strata. Let's just say (as they do when they make those marketing calls) that I’m somewhere in the middle. That brings me to my recent decision. I will buy pencils. No, I'm not talking about the stock market. I am talking about an ad I saw in last Sunday's paper. A coupon advertised 12 monogrammed pencils for $3.50. It dawned on me that I could probably pop for $3.50 and realize a life-long wish at the same time.
I mentioned this at work, telling everyone that I would be bringing in my pencils and pretending to be the rich girl in the class. We all had a good laugh, but later one of my co-workers approached me and asked me to count her in. Instead of her usual "Katie," she asked that I have them put "Katherine" on her pencils.
It's amazing isn't it, just what floats our boats?--and how long it takes us to step up and tell everyone that we finally think we're worth something. Well, Katherine and I will be sporting our new pencils soon. Let me know if you would like to join this effort--I'll just pencil you in.
. . . but, there is a footnote to this little story as I look back on my life . . . Somewhere due to being busy or thinking that this was a silly thought of the little girl inside me, I decided to forego the pencils. BUT, my friend -- yes, the one who dressed up as a pea with me -- took note and ordered them for me! That was eons ago, but I have used them sparingly, just pressing one into action when I feel low. So, I still have one or two, and you know what? – each time I make a note, or grocery list or whatever, I feel richer (in spirit) and I realize what good friends Life has sent me.