Guest Post: "Difference of Change"
by Eryn (Ms. Eryn) Burkhead
For me, Christmastime is full of traditions: large and small, and they create a home that I love deeply. One of my favorites involves our loose change, and my granny Ruby started it with my brother Seth and I many years ago.
The entire year, we save change in a red, London telephone bank. That red bank sat on a deep wooden china cabinet that always had a bowl of fake red apples. That cabinet would always shake due to my brother’s spot at the kitchen table and his tick of gyrating his leg up and down on the floor. The table and cabinet would wail and cry, and I would look at him from my seat, glaring at him in annoyance.
A week or two before Christmas, granny would pick us up from our house five miles down the road from her own, and we would go down to ‘her’ Publix grocery store, meaning the one in Hermitage, Tennessee. We would dump that red coin holder into a grocery bag and then pass it around.
As a kid, it seemed so much heavier, all those coins doubling down in weight. All three of us would guess the amount that was in that bag; then, we’d take it in and dump it in the coin counter. Seth and I would watch as the machine counted each bit of change, seeing whose number it would get closer to. Whichever one of us guessed closest would get more of the money to spend.
One we got our cash in return for the change, granny would divide it between us and take us to the Dollar General. There, we would take our green baskets and wander up and down the aisles aimlessly. Picking out toys or baby supplies. We’d pay at the register and then deposit our purchases in the donation bin: Toys for Tots.
After all of this was said and done, granny would take us out for lunch. This tradition has such a comforting feeling surrounding it; that day was always a good day. It is a tradition Seth and I have said we will continue on one day if we have children of our own.
Granny started the tradition because she realized how important it is for kids to know that there are people in need and struggle in this world.
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Such a meaningful tradition. And, Eryn, I think you have the makings of a writer like your father. I love the details of how the cabinet shook because of Seth's leg shaking and how the bank felt heavier once you got it to the store. Really great story!
What a beautiful lesson and tradition your Granny instilled in you!