Things I Learned From My Mother

Day 132
Things I Learned From My Mother


I've already confessed that I am a bargain-junkie. I can't pass up a clearance sale and I have bought things I do not need time and time again because they were cheap. These are behaviors passed on to me from my mother. Perhaps they were passed on to her by my grandmother. I come from a long line of bargain-hunters. That in itself isn't so bad, but other things I learned from my mother are:

• You can always fit one more thing in the closet.
• You may not need it now but someday might.
• Kids can never have too many toys or clothes.
• If it's from resale or a garage sale, it doesn't count.
• If one is good, five are better.

Many of these are behaviors I am battling this year. Thanks a lot, mom.

    But there's another side to my mother, the bigger, better side. My mother is the most generous person I know. She would, literally, give someone the shirt off her back if they wanted it. She has made dozens of scarves and blankets using sale-priced fabrics to gift senior citizens, mostly anonymously. She uses coupons to buy toiletries to help stock a homeless shelter. She showers the grandkids with so much, our Christmases used to resemble a toy factory explosion. More accurately, she is generous to a fault, buying for everyone when she really couldn't afford to. 

     I've learned from my mother that family is the MOST important thing in the world and you sacrifice anything for them. If any of us need anything, she is there, and more importantly, is happy to be there and do whatever we need. I'm sure my sisters and I have taken advantage from time to time but she doesn't complain. 

     Because of my mother, I feel like I can accomplish anything, because she truly believes I can accomplish anything. All of us, my sisters, our kids and grandkids. My mom bursts with pride in us. 

     And, my mom has taught us to embrace the adventures in life. She travels as much as she can and is always up for a road-trip. I remember the Sunday afternoons when we would pile into the car with a full cooler and no plan. The times she packed up the kids to spend the night in a hotel with a pool. The shopping trips she still takes with her good friends, even hours away. 

So, yes. I have learned my bad shopping habits from my mother. But that's a small price to pay for all the wonderful things she passed on to my sisters and me. I look at my own daughter and hope that I've stopped this shopping madness in time for her. But mostly I am thrilled to see that we have passed on all those good things on to her, too. So, really, Thanks a Lot, Mom!