My father could not walk past a coin on the ground without stopping to pick it up. He would go out of his way… way out of his way… to check if that shiny thing he spotted might be a dime or a nickel or even a penny.
After he died, I started picking up coins because I know my father is sending them to me. My son also picks up coins in honor of his pepere. And when I’m out with my granddaughter and we find a coin on the ground, I tell her it’s from her grand pepere.
Sometimes I test my father to see if he’s listening. Tonight when I walked through the store parking lot, I spotted a penny. I picked it up and jokingly told my dad I wanted to pay for my groceries with that penny. I usually keep all the coins I find in a jar, but I was willing to part with that one, if that’s what my father intended.
As I shopped, I added up my purchase like I always do:
(4) boxes Mueller’s, FREE with coupon plus a $1.24 overage
(1) squash from reduced produce, 78¢
(2) packages Johnsonville sausage, $3.99, each with $2 off peelie, and I had (2) $1 off coupons, total 99¢ each
My total so far was $1.52. I needed to spend over $2 because I had a $2 catalina coupon I wanted to use. So, I grabbed…
(1) bag of onions, $1.49
I hated to buy the onions because they were not reduced and I did not have a coupon for them. But, my mother has been asking for onions and the bag brought my total to $3.01. I liked that number. After my $2 catalina, I would pay $1.01. I could hand over a dollar bill and also use my penny. It was not a penny transaction, but it was a good enough sign for me.
As I watched the screen while the cashier rang up my items, I noticed the sausage rang up at $3.99 but then it took 50¢ off. The same thing happened to the other package. Another 50¢ off. Two discounts I was not expecting. I was bummed that my total would be messed up. I was so flustered that I could not do the math. I could not see that I had just gotten an extra dollar off.
After my coupons, my new total was $2.01, not $3.01. I handed over my $2.00 catalina then heard the cashier say these awesome words…
Your total is one penny.
I love and miss you dad!
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