I have started this new thing in my home. When I want to buy something for the house, I have to sell something first. This is accomplishing two things for me. First, it is keeping me from becoming a Home Goods Hoarder and just filling my house with STUFF that I don’t need. Second, this is helping me curb reckless spending when I’m just trying to get my good ‘ol retail therapy on.
I LOVE decorating my house. After all, it is a form of art! It lets me be creative and create visual candy for my brain and a comfy home for my people. I used to think I loved decorating for the holidays but this has gone to a whole new level since Wyatt (4.5) goes bonkers for holiday décor. It literally gives him so much joy to put up the “decorations” for each season.
It was a really Monday-y Monday. I dropped off Wyatt at school and headed straight for Home Goods, the place that can cure all the cases of the Mondays.
I had sold something from the house over the weekend and made a whole $30 and I was so excited to get a few cute little Easter décor pieces with it. I had my coffee, my cute baby and was ready walk every isle!
I had slipped the $30 into the front pocket of my diaper bag. I’m usually very careful with money and always put it in my wallet, mostly because I’m too scared I will lose it. Eye ROLL. I remember looking at it in the pocket by the Kleenex thinking, “I should really put that in my wallet so I don’t lose it”
Famous last words Kelsey.
I got to the register with a few rugs I needed and then my few pieces of décor that I was using my $30 to pay for. I went to grab it and it was GONE.
*Begin crazy lady panic and start ripping apart your bag*
I start frantically whipping out all contents of my bag, my pockets. I check my bra…I don’t know, don’t some people put money in there?? HA! Nothing. Thoroughly check the cart, the baby, the floor…
Gone.
Then I did something I didn’t expect, I put back the stuff I was going to buy with that money. And I was MAD. I was mad at myself and I was mad huffing to myself that there are no decent people left in the world who would turn it in. I walked back through where I had been and no money.
So I joked with the cashier that if someone turned in my CASH they could call me and left my name and number. Sigh.
I got to the car and I was GRUMPY. I was so mad that I didn’t put that money in my wallet. I was so sad about my cute little black and white striped bunny that now wouldn’t be going home with me. I was so mad that someone would take the money and not turn it in. My attitude was really awesome (read sarcasm).
Then I thought about who I WANT to be. I want to be the kind of person that can find the good in the bad. I realized that becoming the person I want to be means practicing the things I want to master. I mean, if you pray for patience you will probably get a whole lot of situations to PRACTICE patience. I’ve been wanting to master positivity and finding the good in situations so what do you know, an opportunity to practice popped up…
So I pulled over the car and prayed.
I prayed that my heart would be softened. I prayed for the person who found my money that they would be able to use it and that it would bless them. I prayed that I would be more opened handed with my money (lol even though it seems I already had that one down) and that I would continue to recognize that my money is God’s money.
I pulled back on the road and we went on our way. A few more times I had to take my negative thoughts captive. A few times I had to stop secretly wishing that I would get a call that someone turned in my money. I kept letting it go and genuinely hoped that it would help whoever found it.
We got home and I checked the mail. A letter addresses to me caught my eye. You know what inside?
A CHECK FOR $30.
It was from some random lawsuit that had settled. In the total of $30.
Alright Jesus, I see you bro!
Would the check still have been there if I hadn’t lost my money. Sure. Would the check still have been there if I kept my bad attitude and pouted the whole way home? Probably.
Would I have learned such a valuable lesson when I opened up that letter. NOPE.
I just couldn’t help but laugh out loud. It felt like I had generated a full circle moment by stopping and addressing my feelings, getting to the root of my bad attitude and doing something to change it into something positive.
That $30 check just drove it home for me. When we generate goodness, goodness will most likely come back full circle. No I didn’t get the $30 check as a reward for my attitude change but it was super symbolic to me about putting good into the world and having it come back to you.
I truly believe that we are in charge of our happiness. We are in charge of how we handle failure, being wronged, unfortunate situations that are beyond our control. We get to choose how we react. We get to choose who we want to be. We are in control of WHO WE ARE. It is never to late to start working on who you want to be. Keep looking for situations to practice it. Be the change you want to see in the world. Start with you.
This is a lesson I’m teaching Wyatt right now and I’m still learning it myself.
I will never know who found my money or what they did with it. Yet, at the end of the day I know that I’m good with it because I’m making the choice to be!
And yes, I went back for the cute bunny….duh.
Photo Deets
Watch: Jord Watches
Coco Bow: Ciala Co
Coco Outfit: Happy Pine Tree
My shirt: Nordstrom
