Two years ago I shared with you the tale of the single, unemployed mom who busted into her daughter's piggy bank for gas money. That mom, of course, was me.
Well, friends, it has happened again. However, this time it was for a far different reason.
My purse was stolen.
Yep. Stolen. It was a lovely Sunday morning and I had just dropped my sweet daughter off at her father's and I thought, Hey, Susan, your thighs aren't getting any younger -- how about we go for a nice 6 mile hike? My reply, You really should be nicer to me, Susan, but okay. What the hell.
And so after my wonderful morning of exercise and meditation I rounded the path back to my car and found it had been broken into.
Glass was everywhere and my hidden away purse under the driver's seat was gone (along with everything in it -- debit card, cash, checks, driver's license, makeup, etc).
I was surprisingly calm. I mean, what else could I do really? Smash a window? Oh, right, that had already been done for me by a crowbar. Instead, I did the next indicated action and called the police, my bank, credit cards and best friend for moral support.
Since it was Sunday I knew I would have to wait until the next day to get the car fixed and go to the bank to get any money. So, I drove home on shards of glass.
As I showered off the hike and glass I thought about all that brand new makeup that was in the purse and it dawned on me that I didn't even have so much as a chap stick to wear to work the next day. I was also out of dog food and pretty thin on dinner options
I mean, it was Sunday. My Sunday. My big errand day. The day of lists and no child! Now I couldn't drive my car, I couldn't write a check because I had no I.D. and I couldn't go to work without at least a decent liptick.
And that's when it hit me. I knew what I had to do.
Once again I went to the one place I knew had some cash. My sweet girl's still ridiculous looking pink fuzzy piggy bank.
I opened that sucker up and took out all the cash she had. It was a surprisingly large amount which made me both wonder how it was she had so much money but also grateful that my little hoarder had so much money.
As I sat there in the closet taking out the green from her piggy bank I had to laugh. I mean, how many times am I going to have to rob my kid in this lifetime? Granted, I knew I would replace it the next day when I got to the bank but still... that thing really has saved my butt.
I walked to CVS and grabbed two lipsticks, one mascara, a bag of dog food and a can of soup. It was like that scene from The Jerk when Steve Martin is taking the fewest amount of items he absolutely can't live without... "All I need is this here lipstick and this soup... okay and maybe this mascara..."
The truth is my life is full of so much abundance today. I have a healthy daughter (as well as cash strong), a loving family, incredible friends and an amazing job that has made it possible for me to even have a purse worth stealing.
When I went to the bank on Monday to deal with the aftermath of the robbery I did one more thing. A few weeks back I received my very first book royalty for "Understanding The Fall" and for the first time ever I was able to open a savings account for my child.
The best feeling ever.
So on Monday as I took out cash to replace the money from my daughter's piggy bank I also put in the same amount into her savings as a thank you.
I hope those guys who busted my car and took my purse enjoyed the makeup, photo of my dad when he was twenty years old and driving a cab in New York, and, of course, the cash and joy ride they took on my credit card.
I know I enjoyed remembering where I was two years ago... and, even more important, seeing where I am today.
