I finally sold a piece of jewelry that I'd been trying to sell for awhile.

It was a gift from one of my ex-boyfriends. A thoughtful gift, though not what I wanted or needed at the time he gave it to me. Thoughtful, yet not really thoughtful. I would've been much better off with the money it cost him to buy it. I needed money for my next meal more than I needed jewelry. After he was out of the picture, there was no reason for me to wear it because it wasn't much in line with my style, and I could still use the money.

During and after I made the sale last night, I didn't feel as good as I thought I would. Every other time I've made a sale, I felt great... and lighter, like I'd just recycled or donated. Done a good deed. Made an efficient, environment-friendly, win-win transaction. But this time, the sale pricked my conscience a bit.

I'd been eager to cash in on that last tangible vestige of my ex, and I'd settled for a mere $83. I'd finally squeezed the last penny out of that relationship, and I got a pang of guilt instead of relief. I was surprised by the feeling, since I didn't have it at any point during the time I was unsuccessfully trying to sell the piece of jewelry.

Maybe I just felt bad because the thing was probably worth $120 or more, and I'd made a hasty deal that benefitted the buyer more than me. Or maybe I was expecting to feel victorious when instead all I got was yet another anticlimactic moment... (How many of those can one have... before one begins to expect them?)