Ball Dropped

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Honestly, this photo might be the perfect representation of the phrase “dropped the ball.” I’m not quite sure why my mother stuffed her collection of Green Stamps into our old sewing bin, but that’s exactly where they still are today.

The sewing bin now sits in my living room, and every time I open it, I can’t help but smile. There they are, those familiar little green stamps that once held so much promise.

For anyone too young to remember them, S&H Green Stamps were given out by grocery stores such as A&P and other retailers with each purchase. You would paste the stamps into special books, carefully filling page after page until you had accumulated enough books to redeem them from a catalog. The catalog was filled with everything from toys and kitchen gadgets to appliances and furniture. Some families saved for years, hoping to earn something they otherwise couldn’t afford.

I’ve heard stories of people using Green Stamps to get their first television set. Can you imagine saying, “My first TV was bought with Green Stamps”? What a wonderful piece of family history that would be.

We already had a television, I believe my mom redeemed her books for a lamp...one she still has today!  I suspect she couldn’t bring herself to throw the stamps away even after they discontinued the campaign.  They represented possibility. They were proof of countless grocery trips, careful budgeting, and the hope that one day those little stamps might turn into something special.

Over the years, grocery stores have tried all sorts of rewards programs, but none of them have ever captured the magic of Green Stamps. There was something satisfying about physically collecting them, pasting them into books, and watching your progress grow one stamp at a time.

Now the decision has fallen to me. Every so often I open the sewing bin, look at the stack of Green Stamps, and think, “I should really do something with these.” Then I close the lid again, preserving our little time capsule for another day… another week… another year… maybe even another decade.

And here’s the funny part: if you search eBay, people are actually selling Green Stamps. I’m certainly not going to quit my day job and become a Green Stamp mogul, but it makes me laugh knowing there are collectors out there who still want them.

Maybe instead of throwing them away, I’ll take a few and turn them into refrigerator magnets. Then I could admire them every day and be reminded of what they once represented, potential, patience, and the belief that a collection of small things could someday become something meaningful.

In a world of digital points and phone apps, those faded green stamps feel like a gentle reminder that some treasures aren’t valuable because of what they can buy. They’re valuable because of the memories they carry....and that patience pays off.

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen." — John Wooden