What's in YOUR wallet?

Lately I upgraded to a bigger purse. No, this is not noteworthy information likely to change the world, but since then I've been thinking about how a woman's purse represents a part of who she is and what stage of life she is in.

When Aeryn was born, I bought a small wallet on a strap that would be easily tossed into a diaper bag or carried alone if I went out without her (which almost never happened). When she was older and I no longer had to carry spare clothes/diapers/snacks on even the smallest excursions I kept the wallet but traded to a purse that was about 1/3 the size of the diaper bag. I loved how compact it felt even though it was still big enough to hold the DSLR and a granola bar or two. I carried this purse for years. Years. It was seriously my favorite. 

Last fall some friends and I did a clothing swap and someone brought a cute little red purse they didn't need any more. I snatched it up and gave it a whirl. I loved the bright pop of color and how little it was - but it couldn't hold much more than my wallet. It was adequate so I made it work (because it was cute!), but I tired of having to carry a separate bag if I needed anything other than that. 

Now I've upgraded to something bigger once again. It's huge compared to what I've been carrying. The other night when we were headed to a track meet I stuffed jackets for Aeryn & I into it and suddenly realized there was no more room. 

There's 5 separate pockets, and they are all full. 

1. The mom-is-a-medic pocket. Band-aids, Neosporin, cough drops, ibuprofen, dramamine (since Aeryn gets carsick), a tiny emergency flashlight, and a quarter. 
2. The you-never-know pocket. Tissues, a tape measure (which gets used more than you'd think), hair elastic, and a packet of chopped peanuts leftover from a McDonalds hot fudge sundae. 
3. The stuff-I-use-all-the-time pocket. An old grocery list, nail file, pens, hair elastics, lotion, ear phones (that work as a hands-free device while driving) and 5, yes 5, lip products. 
4. The I-forgot-that-was-a-pocket pocket. My carry everywhere notebook, and two more lip products. 
5. The cavern-in-the-middle pocket. Aeryn's camera, an umbrella, more lotion, glasses, baby wipes (because they are indispensable- baby or not), a talk from the previous conference, my wallet, and my very favorite lip gloss of all time (blushing from Sephora). 

It's crazy to see everything that I carry all the time. One thing is for sure, when Squirt was a baby I had nowhere near this much lip gloss. It seems like carrying a bigger purse just means I'll decide I need a lot more stuff. At that rate, I'm really grateful for our tiny apartment. Who knows how much I'd cram into it if it were bigger!