Big Bag

Moms can be full of shit and full of truth, sometimes at the same time. This means you don't have to do everything they say, but it doesn't hurt to listen well and sort. You'll get some good stuff if you do. My mother has said many true things over the years, but none more true than this: However large your purse is, that's how much junk you'll carry.

People who know me know that I have always had a handbag fetish. At present I have approximately 40 different purses and totes in a variety of sizes, shapes and configurations. Do I need this many bags? No. Did I almost buy a new bag just two nights ago? Yep. But I didn't!

Anyhow, back to the point. In my younger days I always carried the smallest bags. They were so small people wondered why I carried them at all. "What can you possibly fit in there?" they would ask, incredulous. (You'd be surprised. A woman's bag is like Snoopy's doghouse. It's a lot bigger inside than it looks from the outside. Even a small bag will hold a lot of junk.) Then things changed, and I started carrying larger and larger bags. Mom was right. Whichever bag I carry, it is full. Let's review the contents of the bag I'm using right now:

Wallet
Makeup bag
Jewelry pouch
iPod in its case w/USB connector
Digital camera
Body spray
Hand lotion
Cell phone
One pair of reading glasses (no longer needed)
Two pairs of sunglasses (no longer needed)
Eyeglass case with prescription sunglasses
One dozen pens and pencils (approx.)
Notepad
Bag of "good luck" stones and totems
Two sets of polyhedral dice
Palm Pilot
Two Tangle Jr. toys
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Love Poems by Pablo Neruda
Gum
Keys
Digital recorder
Pill sorter full of vitamins

Whew. That is a lot of junk. There is no reason for me to have 90 percent of that stuff with me all the time. But I have room for it. And that isn't even my biggest bag.