Ever since my dad died in 2002, I've saved all the money I've come across on the ground. At first I kept it all in a shot glass (which was appropriate as my dad liked a nip or two in the evening, and he always used a shot glass. None of that eyeballed the vodka level for him...), then I had to transfer all the coins (and a few bills) to a larger bowl.
When I was little, I knew that my mom's dad, Grandpa Glen, would save all the money he found, label it and store it away. I have a penny that he found on the day I was born. He taped it to a piece of paper and wrote "Sara Leigh's birthday, 4-27-1957". I have it in a shadow box.
For a long time, I did the same thing and still come across little boxes containing pieces of paper with money taped to them. Each has a date written on it, some even say what I was doing, or where I was. It's a bit like finding treasure.
Now, though, when I find money on the ground, I remember the old saying: When an angel misses you, they toss a penny down from heaven.
I hope that's the case because, if so, my dad misses me as much as I miss him.
While it may be my imagination, and if it is I'm okay with that, sometimes I find a penny when I really need it. That is, when my heart really needs it.
I miss my dad a lot. There are hundreds of conversations I need to have with him. Maybe thousands. More likely millions. Questions I need to have answered. Advice I need to hear. When I come across that coin on the ground, my dad feels closer. Perhaps it's because at that moment, I consciously think about him and have a little bit of a chat.
It's true, I could do this about anything....anytime I see a Jeep like he used to drive, or see a flag, or see a G.I., or go by a courthouse, or work in the yard (oh, if it were that last one, I'm afraid my dad and I wouldn't talk very often!). But, I choose to do it when I find coins.
CB, Luke and I were in London in 2004. I was especially missing Dad and wishing I could call him and share the excitement of our trip. We were standing in line to buy tube passes and I looked down. There was a 25 pence coin on the ground. So, you see, it doesn't even have to be "American" money!
While walking in to the Kansas Judicial Center to argue my first case in front of the Kansas Supreme Court, I found a penny in the parking lot. I felt just a little more confident with that penny in my pocket and my dad felt just a little bit closer.
No matter how I'm feeling, finding a coin on the ground always, always brings a smile to my face.
Sort of like finding an Easter egg, except it's not chocolate and I'm not 6 years old.
So, don't pass by that penny,
When you're feeling blue.
It may be a penny from Heaven
That an angel's tossed to you.
