The Three-Legged Pig

a good luck charm

Several months ago I attended yet another meeting in Topeka. The meeting was same ole, same ole until the end when the presenters (basically our bosses for the state) presented us with little wooden three-legged pigs. The pig is a symbol in Chile's culture, where tradition holds that the three-legged pig brings good luck to their owners.I thought this was a pretty neat gesture for the state department to give us these little wooden wonders. It was mostly to pass on some luck to us as we worked with communities on their new planning grants. But for me is has become more than that.

I have been carrying this pig, I named him Hamlet, haha, in my purse ever since. I pull him out once in a while when I feel like I really need a big gulp of good luck, like when we trekked all the way to Indiana in our moving truck, when we dealt with a misunderstanding with the collections agency and now I ask Hamlet to wish me even more good luck as a search for a new career and as we still try to sell our house in Girard. So far he has been pretty good to me, so I will keep wishing for the good luck from him and hopefully he will keep delivering.