enough

The Illustration Friday theme this week is “Enough.”

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So I must confess, I carry with me, at all times, a ginormous purse. I could say it’s a fashion statement, big purses being quite popular right now, but that would be a lie. This monstrosity is filled to capacity with “necessities”, so it can never be big enough!

If you dared, or I should say cared to peer inside, you would find the usual, cell phone, makeup, keys, assorted papers and no less than three pairs of glasses (a whole other story). Peering deeper into the bowels of this suitcase of a purse, you would also find empty gum wrappers, dried up pens, lint, cracker crumbs, wadded up tissues, half-read novels, socks, expired coupons, outdated coffee shop cards, unpaid bills, long forgotten to-do lists, and on the odd occasion, half a sandwich. The list goes on.

In short, my purse is a black hole from which the gravitational pull renders all light and matter unable to escape.

Now the real absurdity reveals itself whenever I need to access any of the things I’ve been schlepping around all day. I can seldom, if ever, simply reach in and pull out a particular item. No, I rummage around for about fifteen minutes or more, sighing impatiently. After which I have to dump the entire contents of the purse out, pile it up beside me, and pick through it as adroitly as an archaeologist on a dig.

This, of course, is not only annoying to myself, but anyone I happen to be with at the time. Especially when my house or car keys are the desired target. Not finding keys in a timely fashion often determines whether or not you and the person you are carpooling with (my husband Tom) get to work on time. It can also determine whether you easily enter your house or bash in a window. The ill will created by window bashing is worsened greatly when said keys are later found right where they belong… in your purse.

I’ve tried carrying smaller bags in an effort to pair down. But this only results in, you guessed it, a smaller, overstuffed purse. A much worse situation, I assure you.

With the exception of the backpack carrying student or the short lived fanny pack craze in the 8o’s, men in this culture tend to carry everything they need in their pockets. Perhaps there is, dare I say, some wisdom in that? Is it gross materialism on my part or could it be obsession with a girl scout-like preparedness that keeps this albatross around my shoulder? Should I become a minimalist? Lead a more ascetic lifestyle? Carry a wallet in my back pocket… maybe a comb?

Could I survive such a drastic mind shift?

You know, better yet, think I’ll go shopping tomorrow for a bigger purse with more pockets!

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Once again, I’ve lazily reposted a very early post. It seems to fit this week’s theme nicely, so why fight it, eh?