Shiny penny.

Some days I feel like a shiny new penny.  Whether I be part of the collection a little boy that delightfully adds me to his piggy bank for future dreams or I become a world traveler stowed away in pocketbooks, wallets, dashboard compartments or the tatter coin purse of a little old lady making her way to the local Kroger.  There is great expectation in the life of a shiny new penny.  So much unknown, so much to see to reflect, worlds to encounter and even joy to bring when I am left on an abandoned parking lot driveway.

Waiting, waiting, waiting for that lucky optimist to pick me and notice I am heads-up.  Yes, its true, most days I wake feeling like a shiny penny, filled with promise and expectation.

But then there are days like yesterday.   Days that my shiny new finish feels tarnished; even sticky from the soft drink spilled on me last week, or the chewed gum stuck to my tails just wont let go.   Days when my shiny finish feels insignificant among the lint, fuzz and crinkled up receipt crowding me in a dark drawer.   There are days that no matter how shiny my new finish might be, the absence of light leaves no reflection for my shiny finish to glow.  On these days, I remember that it cost more to make me than I am actually worth and I tarnish myself.

Wishing, wishing, wishing that somehow my shiny finish will somehow make it through to the next day when perhaps that drawer is opened and I am given the opportunity to shine in the sun.  Wishing and dreaming for the day that I can flip proudly in the air, landing in the palm of some hand that will honor and cherish my wisdom,  Heads or Tails.  Both have merit.  Both have wisdom. Both are always present with me.

But days like yesterday.  Days like yesterday when the expectation to be all I can be, shine as bright as I can, dispel wisdom to myself or to others are all lost to me.  Lost to me from the lint in my head and the sticky gum at my tail.

Today, I remember that some days I do get to shine in the sun, some days I do get to travel the world, some days I even get polished and cleaned by an enthusiastic child adding me to their collection.  

Sometimes shiny.
Sometimes tarnished.
Sometimes just wading through the lint, fuzz, sticky gum and crinkled up receipts.  
But deep down, I will always be a shiny new penny from head to tail.