When Lily was about a year old, give or take, I took an empty pickle jar and slapped a label on it that said “College Fund.” I was ridiculed for my naivety. But for three years, Ed and I put our change in that jar until it was full, and then we filled another jar to the brim as well. They sat on Ed’s dresser for a while because of our laziness. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I took both jars to the bank.
The magic number? $303.56! We saved one hundred dollars a year! I divided the money between the girls’ savings and put that jar on the counter to start filling up again.
I had been thinking about this book three years ago when I was scrounging around the kitchen for a jar. I think I ate the rest of the pickles just to have one big enough!
A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
rating: 5 of 5 stars
When Rosa and her mother come home one day, they discover the house they share with Rosa’s grandmother has burned down. Fortunately, they are all safe. Unfortunately, all their possessions are gone. Rosa’s mother brings home a huge jar from the restaurant where she works as a waitress, and all the change from her tips go into that jar. Eventually, the jar is filled to the top, which is enough to buy a comfortable chair for them all to enjoy.
A Chair for My Mother helps us all appreciate our family, hard work, and also that favorite chair in the living room!
Several years ago we started emptying our pockets into a jar in the kitchen and called it "The Disney Jar." Who needs higher education? We ended up saving about four hundred bucks and apllied to our first (and perhaps only) trip to DisneyWorld back in September. Since then, each of us has renamed the jar. It's the Paris Jar to me and my daughter, the Grand Canyon Jar to my husband, you get the idea. The dreaming is half the fun.I just have to fight the temptation to borrow from it for my son's lunch money.Recent blog post: The Popularity of Orphan Lit Explained
I like the way you think!Recent blog post: Book Nook: A Jar Full of Change and a Chair