Every couple of weeks after payday, I have the chance to stop by the grocery store closest to my home. The reason isn’t usually to buy food, but to take out a few dollars to have some cash on hand for the next couple of weeks before I do it all over again. And every time I go to that ATM (no charge fees, by the way), I can’t help but smile. But that joyous expression isn’t solely because of the money being removed from my checking account. Interestingly enough, to the left of this machine asking me whether or not I want to complete a transaction is one of those coin machines where you put your coins in and you get cash in exchange.
Only a few short years ago, I was in a position where one of those very same coin machines had become a great friend of mine. Due to everyday situations and incidents out of my control, my funds were continuously running dry to the point where I would literally search for and collect as much change as possible in hopes of having a few gallons of gas to carry me through the week. Thankfully things would change as the years progressed, and my need to use the coin machine waned; and also patience, perseverance and a firm belief that things would only get better allowed my situation to change (no pun intended).
Now that’s not to say I’m wealthy, rolling in dough or any other catchphrase you could come up with, but there is a drastic difference between those days and years and now. Standing in front of that ATM with the coin machine right beside me has become the perfect dichotomy of two different time periods in my life – the period that I’m currently living and the period that makes me appreciate the now.
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