When I turned 40, I bought myself the first "expensive" purse I ever owned.

I'd looked for it for 20 years. It was like a miniature briefcase, all leather, pockets, and zippers. It had a place for everything, so that there'd never have to be any digging or dumping.

Oh yeah, it was a beaut! My ex (whom I still lived with at the time), always broke, looked at the bill and almost threw up.

I said, "Every woman deserves a good purse sometime in her life."
I thought, laughing all the way, "That'll teach you not to buy me a birthday present!"

Four years later, I don't carry it often because even empty, it's heavy and pulls on my shoulder, causing a neck migraine. I carry a fanny pack instead, with just my wallet in it, for a grocery run into town or a drive to Grandma's. The only time I take my purse is when I leave for a few days at a time and may need all those essentials tucked tidily into its compartments.

But *the* purse is still the keeper of my wallet, keys, and all the various and sundry that have no other proper place... the bank books, the tiny pack of kleenex, the spare eyeglasses, stray cough-candies, lip balm, a couple tampons, a notebook and pen ... all the things one likes to keep near at hand.