Penny For Your Thoughts

What is a penny really worth to you? I find myself facing this question every time I am trying to declutter, or clean, or in today's case, pack up the playroom for moving. I'll find a single penny, and pick it up. And I stare at it in my hand for way too long.


I glance at the trash bag which is much closer than the two ton kitchen coin jar that never seems to get emptied at the bank. And my first urge is to toss the penny in the trash. But then my second thought is, "Isn't throwing money away illegal?". (I have no idea why I think that.) And then I'm always faced with the third thought, "One day, you may look back and find yourself penniless. And you will remember days like this when you tossed money away out of convenience." And then the last thought will enter my head as I begin mental calculations of how many things worth a penny I have just tossed in the trash...googlie eyes, 5 colored puff balls, a Happy Meal toy. Endless items.

The whole inner conversation goes on...But a homeless person couldn't pay for a stick of bread with 25 googlie eyes...they'd need actual pennies. And so on. In the end, I can never make myself throw the penny out. Because it might appear that I wasn't thankful for every penny earned in this household. And then the heavens above might decide it was time to teach that penny tossing woman a lesson.

But. BUT. I don't pick pennies up off the ground that have been left behind. Because that penny is someone else's penny. Who, I know, will never see that penny again. But I still can't do it.

Utter silliness. Now, really.