Somehow the calendar slips into another new year. The challenge will be to remember to write 2014 instead of 2013. I am sure it will take me a week or two.
I ushered out the old year with a day of volunteering at the LCFS Thrift Shop in Shawano. While my church group always works on the first Monday of each month, every now and then there is an extra day with no one to staff the shop.
It was a cold day, and a slow day as far as customers were concerned. Due to the fact of it being slow, I was told I could lock up early, so at 3:45 p.m., I decided it was time to go about getting things shut down and locked up. However, of course, then a customer came, and while we didn’t have the appliances he was looking for, that mixed up my lockdown procedure in my brain.
I locked up everything tight, even rechecking the doors to be sure. And I made sure the lights were turned off. However, I didn’t realize I didn’t have my purse until I got to my van. I had the bag, which I had brought my lunch in, I had the book I had begun to read and decided to purchase, I had my gloves and the van keys in my coat pocket, but my purse was still in the store, and every door was locked.
The key to the store was in my purse, so no help there. My cell phone was in my purse, no help there. The phone numbers of other volunteers who live in or near Shawano was locked in the store.
What to do? That was the question that kept running through my head. I didn’t want to go back home without my purse. So I wracked my brain as to who lived in Shawano and might have a key to the store, and finally a name came to mind. So, then I had to find a phone to use and thought a gas station might be the best option. The one I went to was very accommodating, and I had the number, as I keep an old phone book in my van.
The angel of mercy that I called not only had a key, but she also was willing to come to the store and open the door. I had offered to come and pick it up and return it to her.
By the time I got home it was nearly as late as it would have been had I kept the store open until 5 p.m. as originally planned. Now, looking back at it, I can smile and chuckle about the workings of my brain. At the time, it didn’t seem funny in the least. However, even though it was dangerously cold out, I was safe. At least I had the van keys in my pocket.
That means I have only one New Year’s resolution: do not lock my purse in the LCFS Thrift Shop again. In fact, sometimes I wonder at the reason I think I need to drag that heavy thing around with me. However, there is something about a woman and her purse; it contains everything she thinks she may need as the day progresses. She may have to dig a bit to find it, but she knows it is there.
As for me, if my purse is missing, I panic, worried I left it where it might be stolen. I feel like my life is in there, which is a little silly, I admit.
The remainder of New Year’s Eve was spent watching old movies, the main one being the BBC version of “Jane Eyre.” I read the book many years ago, and sometimes think I should reread it, but never quite get around to doing so. This version is the next best thing.
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