Unmistakably Uncool (Part 1): My Purse

I know I am uncool. But, just in case there was any doubt, it was confirmed the last time I went to a bridal shower. One of the "games" involved having your purse weighed when you arrived. After everyone was situated, the hostesses awarded prizes to the women with the heaviest and the lightest purses. Mine weighed in at 4.5 pounds. I tied for the heaviest purse.

My purse is big and brown. It looks something like this, only not as, well, cool. It is so big that I have carried my Bible around in it. My normal one, not a compact. There is nothing particularly uncool about brown, of course. Except that this is the only purse I use. So my purse is often unmatched to my outfit. Apparently, there are women out there who move all of their stuff into a new purse every day just so it will match their outfit. (I guess this is easier to do if you don't have 4.5 pounds of stuff in your purse.)

This would all make a lot more sense, I suppose, if I ever wore anything that could be considered an "outfit." But since this installment of "Unmistakably" is about my purse, that thought is probably best left for another post.

My purse holds a lot of stuff, but nothing that is cool. My purse contains: the organizer for my grocery coupons, complete with coupons; check book; cards - all the punch cards for different stores, library cards, insurance cards; membership cards, etc.; calendar; recent JoAnn ads and coupons, in case I get a chance to pop in some time; the kids medical histories/shot records (because I would never remember to put them in my purse when we go to the doc, so I just leave them in there. I tell myself that it's really a good idea since we might need them in case of an emergency...) chapstick (both mine and the kids'.) I have even been known to keep my used footies from the shoe store in my purse. I certainly don't need them in my dresser drawer, but it always seems like a big waste to get rid of them when they are perfectly good to be used again... and I'll need them when I am, where? At the shoe store... carrying what? My purse.

But my purse is uncool for what you won't find in it too: almost never a pen. almost never a pad to write notes on. and never, ever a cell phone - despite the little pocket in the front designed especially for that.

I have, actually, spent the last 3 months or so carrying around a cool purse. Technically, it is an organizer. I knew I wouldn't need all my "stuff" with me when I went, sans kids, to NYC for my sister's graduation. And I knew I wouldn't want to lug my purse around the city. So, I bought the organizer. It looked very cool.

I hate it.

Now that I am back to my normal life, I keep finding myself at the store needing that gift card that has $6.48 left on it, and I don't have it, because it's in the big, brown beauty. Or I go grocery shopping, and I forget to bring my coupons with me. With B3, I never had to remember! And my two pairs of prescription glasses along with my keys barely fit in the organizer without it looking like it is going to explode at any minute.

So, uncool as it may be, I am switching back to my beloved, and uncool, B3. At this point in my life, having my coupons with me when I want them is far more important than looking cool.

Not that I ever did...