Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Penny for your Thoughts

See a penny, pick it up and all the day you'll have good luck.

When I was a little girl, I learned the above nursery rhyme. Is it a nursery rhyme or just a rhyme?

On the way to work today, I found two pennies and a dime. I pick up change when I find it.

In the past, people have commented about the propensity for me to gather loose change. And some people have ridiculed me for it. I figure, when I am in the grocery store, I look at two similar items, and if there is a penny different, I pick the one which is a penny cheaper. Why not reach down and pick up loose change?

I have been finding nickels, dimes and quarters recently. Well, over the past several years, I guess. When I was a little girl, finding a nickel or dime was an experience. It brought me some satisfaction, some joy. Not that I was money-hungry. Especially on hot days, I would hold the penny in my hands and feel its warmth. Then I might think about who last held the penny.

Lazy days of summer. Just wasting time, finding an occasional penny, and thinking about how that penny connected itself to me and my small hands. Spring will drift into summer over the next several weeks, and I sometimes wonder if children today still let their minds drift to such unimportant things.

With Game Boy, iPods, cellular phones and other things that plug us into constant visual and auditory stimulation, I wonder about daydreaming. Laying on the freshly cut green grass and gazing at the clouds. Do kids still do this?

12 comments:

Southern (in)Sanity said...

I don't know if he lays around and daydreams, but my nephew, who is five, is often amused and fascinated by the simplest of things - and not usually any of his fancy toys.

LarryLilly said...

My wife still picks up every penny she sees on the ground.

You werent even a glint in your dads eye, but i remember when i was five, scouring the lots near where I lived, looking for bottles that we could get 2 cents for, the bigger quart coke ones got you a nickel, and then buying a 5 cent TOPPS baseball card pack.

Sweeeeeeeet

LarryLilly said...

In Texas, we have fire ants, forgetaboutit trying to lay on the grass.

Leesa said...

rwa: I am still fascinated by simple pleasures.

larry: When I visited some relatives when I was little, they had bottles with deposits on them. We would fish bottles out of the ditches and return them for nickels. I have been bitten by fire ants. Ouch!

Cinderella said...

I still do it Leesa. And my children enjoy things like the sandbox, the swing set and books. They actually love to read! I thrive on it =)

Unknown said...

My kids are too busy playing softball to just lay in the grass...

But when we get some time off, they dont do iPods, or game boys.... we don't even have them...

Leesa said...

cinderella: nice to hear. But I want to know if they do it when they get older.

~gkw: there is something wonderful about not having plans though. To just baske in your thoughts.

Ian Lidster said...

I don't know if kids still lie on the grass and gaze at the clouds, but I still do.

Ian

kathi said...

I was gonna mention the fire ants here, but someone beat me to it. I don't usually have them in my yard ($$treat it constantly$$), but parks and all, yeah, they're everywhere here. I love to sit outside, and Charlie loves to lay in the hammock on the trees, we'll spend an hour or more outside without talking, just relaxing. Casey, usually only outside when he's playing sports...which is quite a bit. But as far as daydreaming, oh yeah. Big imaginations, big dreams, big goals in life...all goes hand in hand, and I love hearing them talk about it too. Reminds me of all the daydreaming I did as a kid their age. Only, I will always encourage them to reach for those dreams.

minijonb said...

we all need to daydream more.

Pittchick said...

Sometimes I wish I could be a kid again. Life was so much simpler.

Leesa said...

ian: still have the heart of a child, huh? Wonderful.

kathi: To think, fire ants are not native to the US.

mini: I did my part yesterday.

pitt: I wonder if life was easier for my parents. You know, if they shouldered all of the responsibility and life was as hard as now.