By Colleen Pulley
You can tell a lot about a woman by the handbag she has over her shoulder. The many things inside the purse are there for a reason.
Have you ever noticed how much stuff you carry in your purse as you get older? I vaguely remember some of the cute little “Sweet nothing bags“. I carried my necessities around in when I thought the whole world centered around my importance. A comb, lipstick, small phone book with a pen, and my driver’s license. What a life!
Now I cannot get out of the house without a purse that passes for a “small carpet bag“, filled with everything that anyone could possibly or unexpectedly ask for. Tooth pick? Just a minute. Any kind of legal drug, cream, ointment, manicure set, almost everything. Just ask.
Besides carrying everything, my purse has also transported diapers, formula, sandwiches, fruit, rocks, flowers – as I said, everything. As my children grew up and left home, the bulk of the items like blankets, toys, and bottles, decreased in size. However, the size of my bag remained about the same because I have increased the variety of stuff in it. This includes every drug I could possibly need, Kleenex, hard candy, rain hat, a book, and dental floss.
Here is a good example from real life. Long after my purse carried diapers and baby wipes, I was working as a nurse in a newborn ICU. Most of the employees knew that if they had a headache or upset stomach, they should check with me to see if my purse could get them through the shift. One nurse had suffered throughout her 12-hour night shift with a urinary tract infection. It was not until she mentioned to another nurse she had been suffering with urgency and painful urination that her friend asked if she had checked with me. Besides aspirin, Tylenol, Excedrin, Motrin, and antacids, I also carried a supply of Imodium for diarrhea, as well as a supply of by Pyridium to help for urinary pain. At 5 AM the young nurse came to me and by 6 AM she was free from her symptoms. That my friends shows the value of a well-prepared woman with a purse that is ready for any problem life hands out.
It is only rarely that I think about those “sweet nothing bags” that use to swing from my hand. Once you are accustomed to the weight of a substantial bag, you set those play things aside for the real thing.
I have certainly seen how my daughters slowly grew into large bags that make the “small carpet bags” which I use today look like “sweet nothings bags”. The ultimate was when I went shopping with my three daughters, and four of my grandchildren. One of the girls was digging in her purse for something to wipe her three-year-old son’s nose. All three of us pulled out a package of tissues at the same time. We all burst out laughing. This is a testament that patterning in the female species is definitely handed down from generation to generation. Yes, family patterns are alive and well.
Have a nice day, and God Bless all you women who are hauling around everything and the kitchen sink, over your shoulder in that trunk that passes as a purse.
Until later, Colleen
Key Words – handbag, purse, sweet nothing bags, small carpet bag, nurse, family patterns, women
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