'Keep the change'

Dad paid everything with bills; he hated change in his pocket, and he would usually say, after handing over the currency, “Keep the change.”

Mom on the other hand had a purse full of change. Her wallet did have currency in several denominations, but these were just in a wad chucked inside after the last purchase. If she looked long enough, eventually she’d come up with the exact bills and coins needed for a purchase. She rarely got change back.

I take a hybrid approach. Any bills in my wallet are neatly arranged in order from ones in the front to fives and then tens. The bills all face the same way so I know immediately what money is in my purse. I get my money ready before getting in the checkout line. Sometimes I get change but oftentimes I don’t, since my combination of easily accessed bills plus coins produces the amount needed for payment. I’ve said, “Keep the change” only a handful of times in my entire life.

However, there’s a totally different meaning to the phrase, “Keep the change” that has nothing to do with money. You hear it shared by folks who are frustrated with any number of things, including the politician whose campaign slogan is about change but who isn’t doing much, or even products that are new and improved but we like the old product better.

The phrase then becomes, “You can keep the change” – and keep it far away from me. I’m not interested. What’s wrong with some of the tried and true things we’ve relied upon? Why did you have to change the packaging on my favorite cereal so now I can’t find it? Why does the world have to move so rapidly that I can hardly keep up with new gadgets, new words and new models? Why can’t we just enjoy what we have?

Keep your change.

[Sr. Nancy Linenkugel is a Sylvania Franciscan sister and chair of the department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University, Cincinnati Ohio.]