THE SPARE CHANGE DIFFERENCE By Lori A Alicea

Back in the day before purchases were paid with debit cards, most carried cash and spare change in their pockets.

As a little girl I remember “deep sea diving” the bottom of mother’s purse scavenging her “kitchen sink in a bag” for spare quarters and dimes to fund my lunch at school.

Grand-kids love to pick-pocket papa for bubble gum money when he’s seemingly unaware; all the while papa is tickled with their “slight of hand”.

How many times before payday do we empty our purses and pockets for coffee on the way to work?

How many of us panic at the grocery check-out when a bit short searching high and low for a few coins to make up the difference?

We all have found ourselves rubbing nickels, dimes and quarters together to make a dollar for whatever the reason.  It’s just spare change I know but can add up to make a difference.

Once upon a time it was spare change that made a difference when our son went off to college.  Being a one-income family for most of our twenty-four year marriage with a tight budget without margins for the extravagant, my husband David decided to open a small store during break time at work, offering coffee, pop, sandwiches, chips, donuts, moon pies and miscellaneous items to help supplement our son’s college life with spare change.

An extremely hardworking man and father and proud of his job of over thirty years welding tanker cars for the railroad, David wanted to make a small difference in our son’s college life, even if that difference amounted to spare change deposited in his bank account each week for meals and any extras.

Every week David replenished his store inventory finding deals in bulk paying with his executive membership from the local Costco.  A frequent Costco shopper, David’s face became known among the cashiers.

Multiple back packs loaded for a day’s store supply, David arrived before work hours to start the coffee, ready to serve the workers who enjoyed mornings together over coffee, donuts and conversation before clocking in.

Operated like “Honest Abe”, David allowed faithful customers to open credit accounts for those who promised to pay their tab on payday.

David’s store was known for the best coffee and workers from around the plant walked the distance for his famous java.  Truth be told, David just washed his 60 cup coffee maker each night unlike the other stores.

Customers required ice fishing skills to net a can of pop from the frigid cooler water as the water was that cold.  On a hot summer day customers commented that David’s cold beverages refreshed and quenched their thirst like none other.

David’s store could be managed from his work station above, as customers came and went throughout the day waving when they left their coin, with David bringing home his profits in spare change each night.

David loved his little store.  He was a small entrepreneur always looking for better ways to grow his business, expand his menu and mini kitchen of microwave, refrigerator, coffee pot and whatever gadgets he added through the years of his ownership.

But it was a young college student on the mind of a father that kept a store open for business.

A son gone for months at a time with no other way for a father to wrap his arms around him than with spare change deposited into his account for food.

A dad wanting it to be more, but our son never complained as God made up the difference.  Remembering our small acts get the attention of God.

⁴⁰ “And the King will answer them, ‘Don’t you know? When you cared for one of the least important of these my little ones, my true brothers and sisters, you demonstrated love for me.’  Matthew 25:40 TPT

The holiday weekends and summer breaks with our college son bringing back his baskets of dirty laundry and handsome face filled in the lonely gaps of time when two parents missed their kid terribly, counting the semesters ‘till graduation.  All these years later though we’d realize our son would never make it back to his hometown to live, as our son traveled the country seeing life through the eyes of an officer in the military instead.

College breaks ended faster than they came and our son’s car was packed again with books, food and this time with clean laundry by mom.  Dad routinely gave the car a mini-inspection before our son hit the long stretch of road back to his home-away-from-home.  Oil, tires, and fluid levels were checked and the windshield cleaned while a loving father secretly leaves his heart again in the empty ashtray, filling it full of spare change.

Five years of college flew as fast as the two hour plane ride to Washington DC where our son now lives.  So much of life lived since his high school graduation, adding dental school, marriage, tour of duty, four adorable children and serving our country as a Major in the military.

In the years that have passed much has changed yet much has remained the same.  Our son is unassuming in his accomplishments and out of uniform is still our hilarious, fun loving kid we enjoy having home when he can; though those days are years in between.

It doesn’t cost much to add value to someone when the deposit is the intent of your heart, as these investments multiply in great dividends.

The jingle in a father’s pocket may have only been nickels, dimes and quarters or even a few pennies.  But be assured one day upon review of his life’s portfolio, a son will remember his dad’s small store and the difference it made in profits earned from the investment of spare change.