My Glass is Half-Full...of Pennies!

Ok, so finding pennies has become the center of my universe. This might be upsetting or completely bizarre if I didn't continually learn new things about myself, the world, or how simple shifts in perspective can create big change (no pun intended) in your life.

My sister and I used to live on the same street in Washington, DC and got to hang out all the time. But one day, she met a great guy and bought a house out in the 'burbs. We still like to hang out but more times than not, she's the one coming this way because well...it is the city and there's so much more going on here. That and the $6+ in tolls to get to her house (one-way) are a butt kicker.

Now, there is a way to get out there without taking the toll roads, but it takes an extra 30 minutes and can be seriously impeded by stop & go traffic between the myriad of lights on the route. Not so much fun.

There's a route that seems to be the middle ground between fast and cheap (shall we call that feap? chast?) that costs $1.25 each way. Not so bad. But even with this route as an option, I'm still not so thrilled about dragging myself all the way out to the 'burbs on a regular basis.

Well...I WASN'T thrilled about it. Until tonight.

Since it was late when I was driving home I decided that it would be ok to open my car door in the tool booth area to see if there might be any dropped change. After all...not all drivers are going to have good aim as they speed down the highway, sometimes barely slowing down for the toll booths.

So there I am, 50 cent toll in hand when I pop my head out the door. No cars behind me...so I step out to see what I can find. Turns out, this stop was a gold mine! 2 quarters, 5 dimes and a penny. Woo-hoo!

When I got to the second toll booth I could barely wait to pull into the lane. Again there was no one behind me, so I opened my door and stepped out. This time, I found 2 dimes, 5 pennies & a Canadian quarter....that I could pick up. There was also a bevy of change sunken into the asphalt from being driven over repeatedly. Probably close to $2 in dimes and quarters. It was crazy! I dropped my 75 cents in the basket and pulled away as soon as I saw a car approaching the lane. As I pulled away, I thought about the trip to and from my sister's house.

Here I had been hemming and hawing about the toll to come visit my sister and it turns out...tonight I actually MADE money on the venture! I paid $1.25 in tolls and came away with $1.26 for the Penny Project (plus one wayward Canadian quarter). Once I realized how much fun it is going through toll booths, I could hardly wait for my next visit to the 'burbs!

So I present to you this: Where you find "half-empty glasses" in your life, look for ways to fill them up (or at least ways to see them as half-full!). Maybe you can make that mental shift with pennies...maybe with something else. But in the long run, you're definitely better off (and sometimes a penny richer) if you can find a way to make toll booths an adventure and visiting your sister something to look forward to instead of dreading.

**Note to my sister who will hopefully read this at some point: the dread is all about the drive out there...not you! You're fabulous! :-)