Life Lessons: Credit Card Edition

Is it just me, or does your entire life flash before your eyes when you chop up an expired credit card? Okay, that may be a little overdramatic, but I swear the past four years of having a credit card just zoomed by in my head as I took scissors to that old card.

Maybe this is not the norm, and yet I did just experience this because that's how my crazy mind works. I have no idea, as this is the first time in my life I have chopped up a credit card. How crazy is that?! I feel like it's a real life, adult milestone.
I wonder if in four years time, when it comes time again for me to chop up an expired credit card, I will experience this again? I feel that I likely will, and I wonder just what sort of journey my credit card and I will go on in these next 4 years of adventure.

Going back to right now, with the expired credit card and scissors in hand, there was definitely a lot of dollar signs flashing before my eyes. Just this realization of wow, oh wow, how many dollars I spent with this card. I mean this credit card paid for clothes, it paid for shoes, food and concert tickets, lots and lots of concert tickets. This credit card paid for a new phone, it paid for an iPad and a laptop. This credit card helped take me on a trip halfway across the world. It kept me safe, and came to my rescue while I was in Europe and didn't have enough cash to pay for that awesome souvenir I really needed at the time... I mean I still need them, so really those authentic (expensive) Irish wool socks were worth it, but I digress. This credit card has paid for countless adventures, memories, and gifts for friends and family. I am not saying this to brag, I mean I've worked super hard to pay for all these things, and I'm proud of what I've been able to do independently because of hard work and a lot of saving, but really it's not about all the money.

All these things that flashed before my eyes are experiences, they are memories and adventures, and I am grateful for each and every one of them. I am grateful for all the times I've been able to spend time doing fun things with my friends, for all those meals I was able to eat. I am grateful for the clothes on my back and shoes on my feet, for all the times I was able to give back, lend a helping hand, or say thank you. I am grateful for the times I learned independence, experienced new parts of the world, and found myself.

Maybe these things don't necessarily come from a credit card or money, but they were the things I thought of, and am thankful for. It just took an old credit card to really sit down and reflect on it all and all of the life experiences these last four years, and even beyond have presented. Crazy that a pair of scissors and an old credit card can spring so much reflection and gratitude, but that's just how my mind works sometimes.

So there you have it, expired credit card = gratitude. Okay, maybe not, but I truly am so grateful and blessed for all the adventures and opportunities I've reflected on. And four years from now, lets do this again and see what else I have to reflect on when my next credit card expires.
I want to know... what do you think about when you cut up your expired credit cards? Anyone else have the last four years flash by as a life lesson on gratitude?

Thanks for reading this random rambling with Erica ;)