The Day After, The Day Of

Yesterday I was headed out of town and stopped at the middle school to get one of my sons.  As I was walking to the office, my phone rang.  I stepped off the paved path to take the call.  As I was looking down into the bark chips, I noticed this:

Since I wasn't going home, I put it in a safe little spot in my car, went on about my day, and didn't think of it again.


When I got home late last night, I cleaned out my car, threw some stuff in the trash, threw our spent sunflower seeds in the planter bed.  Didn't think anything of it.  Then all the sudden, I felt sick.  I scrambled back and looked for my found penny, but it wasn't there.  I fumbled for my phone, found my flashlight app, looked in the car.  Nothing.  Looked on the path to the trash.  Nothing.  Looked through the planter bed.  Nothing.


I got up this morning kinda feeling sick.  I have a tradition with my found money.  I keep them all together.  Some of them are so recognizable, they're like old friends.  I can tell you where I was when I found them.  Some of them are so unrecognizable that you have to trust they're actually even money at all.


I went out and retraced my steps in the daytime.  I looked in the car.  Very. Closely.  I retraced my steps to the trash and peered in.  Not very closely.  Ick.  I went over to the planter bed and poked through all the bark chips.  It looked a lot like the picture above, except without the penny.


Now I'm not superstitious, per se.  But I do value tradition.  And I do like to keep tabs on special items.  I was a little sad.  I'll be honest.  My found pennies are worth so much more than one cent to me.  They're priceless.  I'm not fanatical about them.  I understand they are THINGS.


So I turned to get in the car and I rolled the events around in my head.  


Perhaps I'm not supposed to keep the found money?  Turn the car on and put it in reverse.  Perhaps I'm supposed to be giving it away to people who need it?  Put the car in drive and head down the street.  Or perhaps I should be chucking it out my window as I drive so other people can find it?  Head out of my neighborhood.  Perhaps there's a reason why my latest found penny is found no more?  Drive out into the wide world to my littlest one's elementary school.  Perhaps I should just be open to the idea that everything is in perfect order, that all is as it should be, that there hasn't been a mistake here.  Park at the school, get out, walk across the street, and look down.