They say you can tell a lot about a woman by what she carries in her purse, and after yesterday’s accidental shot of the inside of mine, I decided to zoom out a ways and show off just what I actually carry aside from that weathered pink photo album.

Contents
• 5 pens
• 1 pen/stylus
• 2 mechanical pencils
• 1 mechanical pencil eraser cap
• 2 notebooks
• 2 flash drives
• 1 USB card reader
• 2 tubes chapstick
• 2 tubes lip gloss
• 1 perfume
• 2 tubes lotion
• 1 bottle artificial tears
• 1 hair pick
• 1 comb
• 1 container floss
• 1 lens cleaning cloth
• 1 Kleenex pocket pack
• 1 nail file
• 2 nail clippers
• 1 pair tweezers
• 1 mirror compact
• 1 pill sorter
• 2 prescriptions
• 1 small pill case
• 1 flashlight
• 1 cardholder/coin purse keychain
• 1 billfold
• 6 bills
• 1 book stamps
• 1 photo album
• 1 wedding card
• 1 sheet of coupons
• 1 business card holder with cards
• 1 appointment card
• 2 fortune cookie fortunes
• 2 keychains
• 1 set of keys
• 1 cell phone
• 1 set earbuds with microphone
• 1 Bluetooth earpiece
• 1 rosary
• 1 prayer coin
• 1 Dumdum

Total weight: approximately 6 pounds

Okay, so that’s a lot of stuff.  And I could probably stand to lose a few of the pens and the lip gloss that I’ve maybe worn once.  And one of the tubes of lotion and the fortune cookie fortunes and – thanks to my phone – the photo album.  I could definitely lose the cardholder keychain thingy, because I’ve never used it, but it goes with my purse and if I put it somewhere else, I’ll likely never find it again.

What have I learned from inventorying my purse?

Well, nothing, really.  I did, however, confirm a few things:

• I’m forgetful.  If I weren’t forgetful, I wouldn’t need to carry a pharmacy around with me.
• I also wouldn’t need to carry my bills around with me if I weren’t forgetful.
• Faith is important to me.
• Good fingernail clippers are essential.
• One can never have too much paper or too many writing utensils.
• Inspiration can strike anywhere, after all.
• It’s important to stay inspired. Those two fortunes read: 1.) You are the master of every situation; and 2.) Fame and fortune are coming your way.
• Family is important.  The prayer coin was a gift from Seymour when we were dating, and the photo album is full of pictures of my kids, my nieces and nephews, and Seymour’s and my godchildren.
• I strive to be one of those put-together women who always look perfect.  I utterly fail in this regard.  Of the two chapsticks and two lip glosses I carry with me, I’ve used one chapstick extensively and the other three not at all.  I don’t remember the last time I used the perfume (though it’s called Haiku, which delights me to no end).

It’s funny – I never used to carry so much stuff with me.  When Bubbles was a baby, my purse was much smaller and contained a comb, my phone, my camera (this was pre-cameraphone, pre-smartphone days), and my billfold (which was also much smaller).  Before that, I didn’t bother with a purse most of the time – I carried my billfold in my back pocket and my cell phone (once I got one, at age 18, after I saved up for one of those enormous old Nokias everyone used to have) in my front pocket.

If I carried so little with me now, though, I’d feel positively naked.

Oddly enough, I feel the same way about my phone – I used to think nothing of leaving it somewhere because when I got my first phone, they were nowhere near as ubiquitous as they are now.

But now?  If I leave home without it?

Totally naked.

Funny how much can change in a decade, isn’t it?

How about you?  If you were to inventory your purse (or your wife’s purse, for you gents), what would you learn (or confirm) about yourself (or your wife)?  Is the suitcase-purse-thing a mom thing, or is it just me?

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