One Dollar Bills

There was a time when one could go to the bank and ask for nice, new, crisp one dollar bills – and get them! Now, one can ask but lately I haven't gotten any. I have to carefully look when I get change and ask the clerks if I can have that crisp one instead of this old worn out one. The reason this is important to me is that for many years I have sent a nice crisp one dollar bill to nieces and nephews on his or her birthday and now grand nieces and nephews on his or her birthday. I try to calculate how long it will take to get there and mail it so it arrives close to the right time. I address cards about a month in advance and set them out to be mailed at the appropriate time.

Today is the first birthday of a Great Grand Nephew. Actually, we have 21 great grand nieces and nephews and more on the way so I need those dollar bills. Babies really aren’t into money but beginning at about age four or so they like money. They aren’t so excited by only a dollar by the time they hit the double digits and I am sure that when they are in their teens, they are quite disdainful of a dollar or at least some of them are. I have kept a couple of sweet thank you notes from, surprisingly, nephews! One was from Mark (there are a surprising number of Marks in the family) and he said that he kept those crisp dollars and dated them. Another note was from Ryan. He said the dollars showed I cared. I only send until they are 18 – I feel that a dollar when you are 56 doesn’t mean quite what it did at six.

One year on my birthday, I received dozens of cards, each with a dollar bill in it. Niece Jody organized it with a little help from Kay, I think. I was so puzzled at first and then surprised and then embarrassed. It was so sweet but I don’t do it to be repaid or even to be thanked. I want the children to know that they are part of a big family that loves them and there is a little, old great aunt somewhere who cares about them. That was a great thank you, Jody.

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