J.T. CONDE

‘Jar of Pennies’


Maybe our elders are onto something...


Old people, that is. 


They just move so...SLOW.


Caught behind them in traffic or in a narrow hallway
Young people are so eager to zoom by.


What if there’s something to that? 


What if the reason they take their time, 
Isn’t because their joints are stiff and their bones weak


But instead because their spirits and minds are pennies wiser
And they’ve come to realize that the key to life is...
To move slow.


So that way, 
You notice the little things that you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise - in a rush. 
Or with young, fast-moving legs 
Pushing the pedal to the metal...eager to be the first one to stop at a red light. 


I both envy and admire my grandma’s knack for noticing.

Life's simple pleasures were treasures for her to discover...
She pointed out the bird’s nest full of robin’s eggs out front,
And the butterfly basking in the sun,
Balancing on a blade of grass...
Stuff I normally just would’ve walked past. 
Like the fresh, beautiful new paint job of the front porch down the street...
And the electric stars shining above us on a brisk winter night... 
And of course,
The lucky penny on the ground—that she always stops and picks up 
Always heads up. 


While the kids walk by 
Heads down
Glued to their phones. 


My grandma has an entire jar of pennies on her shelf. 
Each of which were found on the ground—
Only a marvel to those moving...slow. 


Adding up to a lot of luck over a lot of years. 
My grandma is not like my peers...
Who trip over their own two feet sprinting to the front of the grocery line. 
Worried about time, nickels and dimes 
While pennies fall out of their pockets.




I mean...maybe it’s not a coincidence that my grandma is both old AND slow. 


Maybe our elders all know—
The secret to living. 


And they just haven’t told us yet. 
Because it’s such an obvious secret. 
That is, to notice the little things. 
Like a penny...or a 4 year old grandson 
With his head up 
Looking at his grandma with wide eyes


Maybe a lack of speed is in fact a gift
Earned only with time and patience. 


Which is why my goal in life
Is to collect pennies (heads up) 
So I can get lucky enough 
To grow old enough...
To move slow.