I’ve been thinking about this time last year.
I made a few purchases over the weekend. Nothing major; no big ticket items from a New Year sale. Just dinner, groceries, and the next book for book club.
Then I went to file away the receipts. That involved sorting, trashing, and shredding the receipts of January 2010. They brought back memories.
The itemized receipt from the dentist was uninspired. The invoice for my husband’s “factory radio interface for iPod” meant next to nothing to me. The receipt for the Fiesta Ware I gave him last Christmas made me smile.
Then I found the invoice for the hot chocolate maker my mother-in-law gave me and the tickets to The Color Purple, a Broadway Across America show. Those made me smile, sigh, and sit back to remember. I’ve been telling friends all year that the hot chocolate maker is proof that my mother-in-law knows and loves me. Yup, it is. And the show tickets? They are proof that my husband and I like experiencing the arts together. Broadway shows are very nearly out of our budget, so we give ourselves that treat only once a year. Seeing The Color Purple together was a wonderful addition to our 21.5 years of memories.
Who knew that keeping the finances could be a fun chore? I’m already looking ahead to the February receipts.