My Purse and Me. Together Still. Her and I.

Yesterday, I was in line at the mall waiting to pay for my purchase when I noticed the cute purse belonging to the woman in front of me. It was a beautiful purse, so I admired it, just a moment. And then I thought about my own purse safely tucked inside my handbag. We share a special bond, that purse and me. No other purse will ever come close. And if you're wondering if I'm really talking about a purse as if it were human, well, yes, I am, and let me tell you why. 

My purse is dark brown, pretty, and sexy, and her name is Nine West. Nine West and I have been going strong - together for about 10 years now, and we have shared so many memories and been so many places - together. Up and down the East Coast, to Ghana and back. More than once. 

We have been to Minneapolis and back, even visited Ohio once, and rested in Chicago too. Together, we visited London for the first time, and she even got to hold a few Euros and pounds. 

We have been to Antalya, Turkey together – visited a beautiful water park there. We have shopped in Dubai together and walked the desert sands. We toured Bahrain together, sampling their delicious traditional staples. 

We've dined on the cobblestone terraces of Dubrovnik and have gone to the movies in Lisbon. We went crazy together in Orlando, too. She's accompanied me to Fort Lauderdale and to Miami. 

Together, we've been to Atlanta. We met some really nice people there. Oh, the places we have been, together. There are too many to list, but you get the picture. She and I go way back - together!


Nine West and I share a love relationship that has outlasted many. She has lasted longer than some of my friendships and weathered the storms of life with me. 

I almost lost her once, and it left me almost insane. But when I returned to the Food Lion parking lot in Norfolk, VA, she was still there, waiting patiently for me in the shopping cart where I had left her.

She is still strong and presentable, just a little frayed and tattered at the ends with a zip that is now broken, but she and I, we can’t seem to part ways. I still show her off proudly. We will go another 10 years if we can – see a lot more places too, together. She has always wanted to visit Paris, so we’ll see about that. She wants to visit Japan, China, Barbados, and Jamaica, too. Oh, my gosh, all the places we will go - together!

Most recently, on a trip to Puerto Rico, she saw me do the unthinkable. I almost bought her replacement. Oh, the audacity of some people! 

Nine West has rocked with me too long, seen too much, and been to so many places, through so many phases, that it seems almost cruel to ever think of replacing her. She has taught me so many lessons on our journey - together.

Lessons like: you don’t throw away something old just because you've found something new. That something new might not last as long!

She has taught me that you can’t love two “things” the same. You’re going to be conflicted and tormented day in and day out. You might love one more than the other, or show one off more than the other. There are nights when Nine West has won hands down over any of my fancy clutches. And boy, does she love to win. She has earned it. With her, I am confident any time, any day.

The most important lesson she's taught me is that having something new can never replace something old, especially if that something old has been there for you from the very start! Old purses are hard to come by. New ones can be purchased anytime, on sale and cheap. But, when something old bears the scars of your many journeys together (be it growing up together, experiencing heartache together, knowing the joys of life together, sticking it out with you no matter what), the worst thing you can do to that something old is to inflict your own scars too.

Old purses will forgive almost anything (even forgetting them briefly in a shopping cart in a busy parking lot), but they will never forgive the betrayal of your inflicted wounds after they have helped you to heal and soothe your own wounds.

Nine West is definitely going to be here with me, together still, for many more years. She is a real trooper, and she is definitely here to stay.