SAHM Struggle: My Purse

My purse is a junk pit. It once was not this way. My purse evolved over time, as my role in life changed.

Teenager: Once I had a purse that was a tiny, tiny thing. It had a wicker handle and was oval shaped. At the most, it measured 4 x 8 x 6. Tiny. I carried cash, lipstick, a cell phone, my car key, and pressed powder. Nothing else fit in there and that was fine; I needed nothing else in life.

College teenager/early twenty-something: I was a bit of a hippie-wanna-be, so I carried a "bag." It was a bit larger and I finally carried a wallet. I stuck my calendar in there for organizing meetings, poetry readings, and paper due dates. It was made from flower material. Still cute.

Mid-twenty-something/newlywed: I thought I carried a large purse, but really, I carried a variety of purses. I actually had time to switch back and forth between black and brown to match my shoes. If I went out on the weekends, I had a smaller purse (again, that matched my outfit) that I stuck lipstick and my ID in. I don't know why I thought these purses were big.


Mom of baby: I carried a diaper bag. If I needed something personal, it normally pertained to the baby, like breast pads. I did not carry lipstick. I stuck my wallet in the side of the diaper bag. I was too tired to care.

Mom of toddler: Here I am today. Both of my kids are potty trained, so I don't carry a diaper bag. That does not mean my purse is not full of kid stuff. My purse is large, but cute. It is crammed with the following stuff:

• 1 wallet
• 2 coupon folders
• An extra pair of shorts and underwear for the newest potty-trained child
• A pair of socks for each kid
• 4 "necklaces" (Mardi Gras beads) that a child discarded at the park
• 1 Lighting McQueen race car
• 1 comb
• At least a dozen bobby pins
• 3 lipsticks/lipgloss
• Lint roller
• Hand sanitizer
• Gas can plastic tube-thing (I ran out of gas last week and had to buy a can. This plastic tube was with it, and I have no idea what its purpose is. I used the gas can just fine without it).
• A broken nail file
• Dead flowers the kids collected at the park
• A name tag
• Crumpled reciepts
• "Club cards" to a million little stores, probably duplicate, that I never remember to use

So now I have come almost full circle (I imagine some day I can carry a normal sized purse again, right?) and have an attractive purse. It is just stuffed with junk.

Add to the fun: what is in your purse?