Blog Archive

Monday, February 4, 2013

Goodbye to the Penny


Today Canada begins phasing out its penny. The "nuisance coins that clutter dressers and cost more than their one-cent value to produce". I get this. I do. But it's still a little sad. I remember taking Pennies down to the train tracks as a kid and laying them along the line, clambering back up the hill and waiting for the train to come along and flatten them. I have a jar somewhere full of flat pennies with squished Maple Leaves and unrecognizable Queen Elizabeths on them. They remind me of my Dad. Such an activity sounds so old-fashioned. I can't imagine kids even being ABLE to get near the tracks these days. My guess is, we weren't supposed to be there either!

My son is missing his front tooth. He's not quite old enough to have lost it naturally, he knocked it out during an enthusiastic bouncing session on the couch. He was 18 months old. Recently some of his older friends have started losing their teeth. And N is VERY interested in the coinage you get from the tooth fairy. He was asking what she gave him for his missing tooth. I told him that she put $5 in his bank account (I did) but that usually you get a bit extra for your first tooth and just a toonie for the rest. He seemed content with this. I remember when I was losing my teeth we got a quarter. And then the loonie came out and my Mom gave us a loonie for our molars. My Grandma says she got pennies.  I wonder if my grandkids will still use coins? Or if they will get a digital credit on their version of the ipod? Sounds very Back to the Future! 

Tomorrow is the 100th day of school and N's class is having a pyjama day. The kids are super excited. And they are supposed to bring in a collection of 100 things. It's part of their math unit - learning to count by 10s. N is taking in a bag of 100 pieces of Lego and (because I'm making him) a bag of 100 pennies. Someday he'll thank me! 

Goodbye to the Penny. I will keep your squished comrades in my hope chest and will wait til I'm a right proper old lady and will bring them out and tell stories of the olden days to anyone who will listen. It sounds like fun :)

2 comments:

Knit and Purl Mama said...

It's sad!

My son's kindergarten class is celebrating the 100th day of school next week, and had to collect 100 pennies to bring into the school. We ransacked the house, I dont think we have any more pennies! (Except in the kids piggy banks, but those they will keep for now in there). I did keep a shiny new 2012 penny, since it's the last to be made, and I have I think one from each of the kids years of birth that I kept too. I thought it would be nice :)

That is so odd that your 100th day of school was already and ours is next week...! When did they start school?

Spinner said...

I have a sneaking suspicion our teacher counted wrong (this concerns me on another level...). The grade ones are celebrating next week too. So I'm not sure how our 100th day has already happened as we all started at the same time! (Right after Labour Day) Still, the kids enjoyed their PJ day and N wont stop counting to 100 and THEY don't know it might have been wrong. Still, one does wonder about the teacher's counting....