The Bag Lady

Five years ago, for my 35th birthday, I bought myself a smallish, red purse.  A purse that boldly declared,

"I no longer have to carry diapers, wipes, changes of clothing,

crayons, games, toys, snacks, and drinks -- WOO-HOO!!!"

I was quite proud of it.  But about a year-and-a-half later, it needed to be replaced.  The strap broke, rendering it unusable and putting me in a position where I didn't have the luxury of waiting until I got to a place where I had a good selection of purses to choose from before I bought a new one.

As you may have gathered from that last statement, I didn't have any other purses besides that one.

((GASP!))

I know.  It's just how I roll.  Multiple purses seems like too much work.

(Yes, I really am that lazy.)

((But I prefer to call it 'unconcerned.'))

I ended up with this rather unexciting, utilitarian bag:

It wasn't as all-occasion as I would have liked, and I often wished I had something a little dressier for church or the other rare times when I was dressed in something nicer than jeans and T-shirts, but the only other purses I found in The Valley at that time were just not my style at all.

(Probably because they were IN style...)

But I really couldn't complain; that purse carries everything.  And the adjustable strap makes it possible to wear it diagonally over my opposite shoulder for times when I want my hands free or I'm expecting to do a lot of walking.  Perfect for a day of garage sale-ing, sight-seeing, or even a weekend at the lake.  Even when it's hauling my wallet, calculator, and hand lotion bottle around, it can handle my small Bible or a paperback novel, a 500 mL water bottle, and my camera quite nicely.  Plus my phone, spare camera batteries, my two favourite lip balms, a flashdrive, a small pack of Band-Aids, and various other small things.

(All the great practicality of a fanny pack.)

((But with an infinitely cooler look.))

Anyway, a week from tomorrow I will turn 40, and that black purse just isn't showing ANY signs of wear and tear (unlike myself), but since it's been over three years since I bought myself a new purse, and five years since I had one that worked with dressier clothing, AND since this is kind of another one of those MILESTONE birthdays...

I decreed I should have a new purse.

So while visiting my favourite second-hand store in The Big City two weeks ago, I splurged wildly ($8) and treated myself to this:

So now I have two purses.

TWO!!

Before you know it, I'll be struggling to learn the ropes of efficiently transferring everything from one purse to the other, deciding which purse to use, trying to appropriately match clothing style and colour to one or the other...

::sigh::

I guess only time will tell if I'm ever any good at being a
concerned multi-purse owner!