Laundered Money

Tim's new job seems to be a good match for his skills, and everything is going well.

Regarding the apartment search -- Tim has found a nice apartment complex, close to work and not far from where we live, either. The problem is that there's not an apartment available right now. The manager will know, by the first of October, if he'll have one opening up by November 1. We all have our fingers crossed. But the good thing is that the longer he stays here, the better his bank balance is looking.

Tim and money. That combination takes me back to another time.

When Tim was in grade school, he got an allowance of $1.00 a week. (Now wait ... it was the '80s you know, and that wasn't so bad!) My rule was that the boys were to empty their own pockets before tossing their Levi's into the laundry. I had "salvage rights" on any treasure left in their pockets. Tim, bless his heart, often forgot to take his dollar out of his pocket on allowance day. I would wash and dry his clothes, and find a laundered dollar bill in the dryer when I pulled out the clothes. I believe the record was five weeks in a row that he got back the same dollar bill - just a little cleaner and a little limper - on allowance day.

But these days Tim seems to have a greater appreciation for the dollars he earns. Besides, he does his own laundry now, so my treasure-hunting days have come to an end, anyway.