Elizabeth tagged me for the What is in Your Bag meme.  To start with, I actually carry two bags.  One is a Lands End baby baby my mother in law gave me when Tess was born. That one holds most of the stuff we travel with. Then I have my purse, a thrifted red leather jobbie I really like. : ) I take both and the bag stays in the van or with the baby. The purse goes in the stores with me.

In the baby bag there are diapers in two sizes and wipes. Diapers for the babies, wipes for well, just about everyone under 12 at some point or another.

My pink plaid planner.  Say that three times fast.  It is a simple calendar style planner with lots of space for each day and month at a glance pages. I make a jillion notes to myself and they are all in there. when you shop with 7 children you forget what you have to buy. You can even find yourself in the car afterwards having forgotten what you bought… The notes come in handy then.

Cell phone which I only listen to on speaker so I don’t fry my brain. You might want to bear in mind that bit of info should you call me while I am at Walmart. : )

An inhalor which I only use once in a very blue moon but am sure to need if it is not there.

Directions.  Me and Mapquest.  We are like THIS.

An apple and water.

Lipsticks – in burgundy and brown.  A staple! Store-brand health food store chapstick.

A hair brush. Someone WILL need it before we get where we are going.

A rosary, at least one holy card, and chapel veil ’cause not only am I a self-indulgent over-breeder but a religious fanatic as well. ; ) Take my word for it – these are particularly useful when driving with your sixteen year old sons…

Checkbook, cash etc. Lots of change from children who toss their allowance in at the checkout when they buy goodies.

Michael’s and Joann’s coupons. Always have your coupons. You never know when you’ll need them! But you will grumble when you see that they don’t apply to the new Martha Stewart line. : p

Writing utensil – anyone’s bet, but crayons show up more often than not.

Lots of receipts.  They hole up in the purse til it threatens to burst and then I turn them over to the resident accountant, whereby he makes assorted grunting noises, I kiss him, and we move on.

A spoon. See above comments for craft coupons.  This time it’s about Rice Dream however.

Don’t have your fill of purse content fun?  Check out the Lazy Organizer’s purse.

If you want to play along link up in my comments so I can visit!

If you are tempted to heap unreasonable expectations upon yourself you might enjoy Dana’s thoughts here.  I have always said that God gives us enough time and resources to do His will but not necessarily a smidge more for our own agendas. My goal this week is to do my periodic re-evaluation to discern which things currently occupying my plate are God’s and which I have added unnecessarily. I challenge you to do the same. : )

The children and I read from a poetry book many mornings. This is the Wordsworth poem we read recently. Even out here it is easy to get caught up in ‘getting and spending’, and making a living can easily overpower making a life. The two are not mutually exclusive, of course, but merging them successfully requires reflection and intention.

"The World Is Too Much With Us" 

The World is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers,

Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given

our hearts away, A sordid boon! This sea that

bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that

will be howling at all hours, And are up -gathered

now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything,

we are out of tune; It moves us not.-Great God!

I’d rather be a Pagan suckled in a creed outworn,

So might I, standing on the pleasant Iea, Have

glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have

sight of Proteus rising from the sea, Or hear

old Triton blow his wreathed horn.

My grandmother was a treasure trove of little sayings and songs, many of which are trapped forever in the recesses of my mind, breaking out when I least expect them. One that is replaying in my head of late is The Old Gray Mare.  You remember don’t you?  "The old gray mare, she ain’t what she used to be….." As I hum involuntarily questions come to mind:

I wonder if she was always gray?  Or at some point along the way did little renegade white hairs begin to pop out like corkscrews in all sorts of odd directions?

I wonder if she stared in the mirror thinking, “Huh. That is MY hair. Go figure.”

I wonder if she found herself musing over the arguments for going gray trying to decide if it was noble or just unnecessarily scrupulous?

I wonder if she thought maybe if she just let it be she would someday look like Diane Keaton or Jamie Lee Curtis? Even if she IS a very short mare….

I wonder if she ever realized that while Taylor Hicks and Richard Gere and a host of other men are thought to be cutting edge cool with their gray, google could not pull up any other gray actresses ….

I wonder what happens when she wanders out to pasture? Do the other horses think her gray is a “crown of glory” or do they just think she let herself go?

I wonder if she ever considered coloring her mane?

I wonder if the prospect of cancer from dark hair dye made her then shiver?

I wonder if the prospect of vegetable dyes left her with flashback images of bad henna jobs from the 70s?

I wonder if she felt coloring hair would be of no more importance than brushing a hint of blush across one’s cheeks or if it was somehow not being authentically herself?

Just wondering. Hypothetically of course….