Although I received this piggy bank many years ago, I still hold it near and dear to my heart – and not only for good luck on a rainy day…

I remember opening the most beautiful round box with pink stripes, unfolding white silk folded carefully to protect the delicate glass of the Mud Pie ‘Little Princess’ Piggy Bank. It was perfect!! I even kept that beautiful box, imagining that it was a ballroom for my Polly Pockets.

Around this time, I was obsessed with ballet and state quarters: I bugged my dad for spare change so I could fill in my collection book. Keep in mind this was around the recession, so I’ve always had audacity and big dreams. Bless his heart.

As I grew up, I learned to save money through birthdays, babysitting, and mowing the lawn. When I got my first job and switched to direct deposit, the Little Princess lost her place on my shelf and the Polly Pocket ballroom shut down as Cinderella mopped the floors and learned to drive.

Decorating my first apartment, I figured the old piggy bank would make a cute detail: first in my childhood bedroom, now in my Person-With-a-Gmail bedroom. At least a better place for quarters than random corners of my car.

I had an appointment across town, so I decided to cash in my piggy bank savings too. I pulled off at a Kroger on my drive home, parking as an old Tim McGraw song played over my speakers.

“Excuse me, sir? Is there a Coinstar machine inside?” I asked, smiling at a silver-haired man gathering carts nearby. He directed me to the far left wall of the store, where, next to a mother and son purchasing lottery tickets, the Coinstar machine emitted its faded, hopeful glow.

I dumped my coins into the reservoir and they crashed into their divided slots. I waited, noticing how if you close your eyes and tilt your head a little, it sounds like rain on a tin roof. Probably. I’m not sure I’ve ever been under a tin roof. Is there insulation? Who am I kidding, my blog is pink. I know nothing about roofing and nobody GAF.

Then something amazing happened. The totals added up to $20.25. Coincidence? No. Luck.

I booked that appointment months ago, then just happened to tuck that piggy bank into my bag on the very same day. But somehow every gas station stop, iced coffee, and drop on that tin roof rounded out to the same numbers of the new year. And I’m taking that as a sign.

What did I spend my new cash on, you ask? I went to a nail salon I’d never been to and asked the technician if she wouldn’t mind freestyling a Hibiscus flower, too. During the manicure, I chatted with the woman next to me, who chose a lucky neon-green for spring.

On the way home, I stopped at the gas station for a drink and asked the girl at the register if she could recommend her current favorite.

She smiled. “Do you like grapefruit juice?”

I told her I love it. I’ve never had it, but I’m excited to try something new.