A Penny's Worth

I remember the days growing up when I would spot a penny, bend down to pick it up, and place it in my pocket until I was home with my piggy bank.  It was a shining symbol of wealth to a child.  We had penny gumball machines.  A penny got you something!  “A penny for your thoughts” is a saying that dates back to the 1500s when a penny was a large amount of money.  Today, the penny is getting the boot.  People don’t just walk on by the penny instead of picking it up, they sometimes step right on it!  My son saw a penny the other day and I actually discouraged him from picking it up.  I thought, “What’s the use, it’s worth nothing, let’s get going”.  What a bum rap the penny has gotten in recent years.  Then with childlike innocence, he reminded me that if he just gets nine more pennies, then he’ll have a dime.  Yes, he’s a glass-is-half-full kind of guy.  A Mom just can’t argue with that logic.  And I didn’t have the heart to tell him that even a dime doesn’t buy much these days.

Then, in my mailbox, came a catalog to make me change my tune.  It was a catalog from Spring Hill Nursery and it was a One Cent Sale.  Yes, for only a penny I could get plants.  Ok, to be fair, you had to buy one plant first and then the second one was a penny (or if it was a set of 3, you now got 6 for only one cent more!).  I poured over the sale items for days.  I replanned our gardens.  I just had to fit all these beautiful penny plants into our beds.  After scaling down the order, I only bought 6 mixed lungworts for the front and 4 double red hollyhocks for the back fence.  I can’t wait for the email now that says the shipment is on the way.  In the meantime, I’m going to be picking up all the pennies I see. 



Mixed Lungwort