Friday Foto Friends

Joining in for Friday Foto Friends!  Join in and link up here!

Well, sometimes it really does pay to begin the de-cluttering process!  I went up into the attic yesterday to begin the dreaded task and look what I found!!

This is only part of what I found in a dirty old toolbox. So, after I finished my tasks and filling the recycle and trash dumpsters with all sorts of junk, I brought the toolbox down and then went to the Half Price bookstore to spend a few dollars on a book a friend recommended.

The toolbox has been in the attic for years long forgotten. However, the story behind that toolbox full of money and coins takes me back about 31 years to when my husband passed away. As you know, when you lose a spouse, you go through all manner and stages of grief. There is a lot of time at the beginning when you are still reeling from the shock of it, but having to face reality trying to deal with finances, funeral expenses, other debts, a mortgage, life insurance, retirement funds, and the list goes on. With the help of friends and family, these things were sorted out, and, since I was already established in a good job, I was able to continue on in our home because provision had been made for me.

However, for the day-to-day things, after paying the basic bills each month, there wasn't a lot left for "extras." You know, fun things! Well, as it turned out, to make a long story short (which I don't seem well able to do), my late husband had left several treasure boxes of coins in the way of dollars, half dollars, quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies! He had been carefully saving them for years, rolling them, labeling them, and sorting by years, etc. It was a hobby for him because really, very few of the coins were real silver anymore and the values were pretty near face value. But as it turned out, there were several hundreds of dollars there for me and when I needed a little extra cash, all I had to do was go to my little bank in the garage, take out what I needed, get it converted to paper money, and buy what I needed! 

So there! God had provided for me in all kinds of ways. I had family, multiple friends, church family, a job that was secure ... and my needs were supplied.

After meeting DH, I recall one fun day when the kids had another friend over and we wanted to do something special. We filled a bucket full of coins, had the kids guess the total amount, take it to the bank, and whoever guessed correctly would win $10! What fun!

As for the coins I found yesterday, I know exactly what to do with them. That was the last box and they are going to four special kiddos to put in their respective piggy banks. 

And finally, since this is the last of the toolboxes, I think you could say it's the last of the big spenders here!