Today was a long day. I had managed to get a haircut and finish another essay for my book, so it was somewhat productive, but I’d had tummy issues all day and by the evening getting our son Theo to study for his math test seemed like a particularly hard struggle. I’m not sure who won the homework battle in the end, but once Theo’s backpack was packed, the last snacks of the evening were consumed, and my husband David was snuggled up in bed reading to Theo, I tried to focus on my Giveaway.

It was 9pm. I went down to my car and rummaged through my stash of things to give away. Nothing seemed workable. I slumped into the front seat and rummage in my glove compartment where I keep odds and ends. In there was a cute little coin purse with an elephant on it. I’d bought two of them at one of my favorite stores Grow Kid Grow (see Feb 11) a while back, and I use one daily as a coin purse. In fact, I had just been showing mine off earlier today to one of the sales assistants, Liz, who works at the check-out at CVS, where I’d gone for some tummy medicine.

I had been standing in line and overheard Liz talking to the customer in front of me who was checking out. I heard the customer say, “Grow Kid Grow” and realized that she was the owner Missy, who I hadn’t seen for ages. I went up and said to Liz, “Yes, it’s a really great shop!” and smiled as Missy turned around and recognized me. We hugged and she explained that Liz had asked her about the cute cloth handbag she was wearing. She didn’t usually tell strangers about her shop but in this case, she wanted to because the bag was made by a local artist who she was trying to promote. As Missy checked out her purhcases, we caught up briefly. After she left, I started raving to Liz about what a great children’s clothing resale store Grow Kid Grow is and how many cute things they sold. I pulled out my coin purse as an example. Her eyes lit up. As we said goodbye, I told her how nice it was to chat to her, and she replied, “Yes. See what happens when you tell someone you like their purse!”

At that moment I hadn’t remembered I had another elephant coin purse in the car, probably because my tummy was affecting my brain. But this evening, as soon as I saw my purse’s twin in the car, I knew where to go. I headed to CVS. Liz had gone home for the day but I left the coin purse with her colleague with a little note. Hopefully it will put a smile on her face when she clocks in tomorrow morning, just as she put one on mine today, despite my tummy…