Clown Car Purse

by Patti


I have openly and honestly mentioned here my tendency to be a little disorganized. Like most busy moms, I have alot going on in my life, and that "lot" seems to somehow always find a way to migrate into my purse.

The things I have found in my purse confound even me; things like wrenches and doll arms and duct tape and Goldfish crackers - they all reside in some surreal perfect harmony in my purse.

My purse is a one-man band. Every time I pick it up, the sheer weight of it causes it to inevitably slam into something, and when  it does, a cacophany of sounds rattle out of it. I walk and I sound like Mr. Freakin' Bojangles, my purse bruising my hip as it wildly swings.

The other evening I was at the ballet studio with Cathy, waiting for our girls to finish rehearsal. I was looking for something in my purse, digging through the depths of handbag hell to try to find it. As I searched, my purse transformed into a clown car, item after unbelievable item tumbling out of its cavern like so many little clowns. Cathy started laughing because not only had she seen me do this several times before, but also because SHE, too, does this on a regular basis.

So we decided to do all other fellow Clown Car Purse carriers a favor - we decided to film a dramatic reenactment of me looking for something in my purse. Yes, this is a reenactment, but I can assure you: It is totally realistic.

Behold:


I know there are many busy moms who manage to keep their purses organized and tidy and pared down to the bare necessities, and I admire these moms. How they keep their purses snack-free and toy-free and Sharpie-free and crumpled-up paper-free is a skill I have tried and tried to master, but no matter how many times I clean out my purse, it always slowly morphs back into Clown Car status.

So if you ever hear a clownish "HONK! HONK!" combined with some jingly-jangly footsteps, turn around and say "hi". Because it will most certainly be me.