Rhymes With Lucky

Last Saturday, my youngest daughter & I attended the annual Oak Bank Pumpkin Give Away fundraiser, benefiting The Road Home (Dane County). This, in itself, was its own little carnival complete with a bouncy house, games for the little ones, an appearance from local team & business mascots, food, activities, & even the Oscar Mayer Mini Wienermobile. Free chair massages were available for the adults, & there was a nice spread of prizes featured in their raffle. I bought 5 tickets, I chose carefully.....and wouldn't you know it.....I WON one!

What you must understand now is that I never win anything. Ok, ok I realize my odds were a little better that day considering the snow flurries in the air & the bitter wind that made tiny white caps on the pond near by. (No picture to post from the event because, even with mittens, my fingers were too frozen to manipulate a camera.) Maybe the turnout wasn't quite what it had been in the past, but either way.....I won!

Now here's the moral of the story. What I really had my sights set on in the basket was the Bucky Book. My husband was also a lucky Bucky winner last May during one of his company's monthly meetings. It had been about 1.5 decades since I'd had relations with a Bucky Book. I never cared for it. It mocked me, pressured me &, if you will, Badgered me. That's right. That little book filled with coupons nagged me to "Buy One, Get One Free" & frequent hundreds of establishments that, under normal non-coupon circumstances, I never would have patronized. But that little word....that one little word....the word "free" appealed to me on a different level this time.

Summer was approaching, giving us a little more free time, when Ty brought that book home last year, & it just seemed the appropriate time to at least partake in the completely free offerings. I mean, what a deal to get something for absolutely nothing, right? And so it began. A freebie coupon there, a buy one, get one free coupon there. They began as a nice break for me to take from cooking on occasion, a neat outing to enjoy with A., & so on. Quickly my hesitation turned into an eagerness for another and another and another good deal the whole family could enjoy. I poured over each offering inside that sneaky book, leaving no acceptable offer to waste. Admittedly, we enjoyed a fun-filled summer & my whole family experienced a Mom who was a bit more happy-go-lucky. It encouraged me to get out, enjoy, & participate in the outside world a smidge more. It was the best summer I can remember in a long time. Thank you, Bucky Book. I look forward to this next year with you.