Thanks Mom Revisited . . .

I needed to run to the store for a few things.  Nothing major, but just a few necessities and some more soup.  So I started making a list, and assembling coupons in my purse, matching everything up.  And that's when it hit me.  I really had grown up to become my Mother...

When I was young, I was my Mothers shadow.  Almost a mini-me of her.  I watched everything she did, asked her endless questions, and filed it all away in my head.

We were not poor growing up.  But my Mom, a daughter of depression era parents, was always on top of coupons.  She had a filing system for her coupons, both at home and in her wallet.  Coupons where sorted by type, product, expiration date and more.  And she kept track of them.  Whenever it was time to go to the store, she had this almost ritual of making a list, then checking what she had coupons for, and when we got to there, we'd set off in an orderly fashion to collect everything on the list.

So then I'm finally read to check out, and I've got my reusable bags ready, my coupons ready, and I'm waiting for the front self checkout register to open up.  One behind it opened and "Little Grey" noticed me waiting and she said you know this one is open.  ["Little Grey" isn't actually her name, but she looks so much like the actress who play's Grey on "Grey's Anatomy" that I call her that.]  So I smiled and said thanks, but the one by her console was about to open and I was waiting for that because I had a stack of coupons.  She said not to worry that she didn't mind walking the few feet.  I smiled and said I had A LOT of coupons.

An the whole time I couldn't help but think of my Mom.

So I scanned everything in, totaled it up, hit pay now and it asked if I had any coupons and I just couldn't help but laugh.  Before coupons the total was $45 and change.  After all the coupons had been subtracted and the ordered totaled again $28 and some change.  That's $17 dollars I kept in my pocket on stuff I was going to buy anyway.  $17 dollars of basically free stuff because I kept coupons handy and used them.  $17 dollars my Mom saved me by answering the endless stream of questions coming out of her special little girl.

I know I didn't say anything on Mother's day, but I honestly don't need a special day to force me to remember and honor my Mom.  Because I live that way.  Most of who I am, what I do, and why I do it is, in effect, a living Memorial to my Mom.  And though she's not been corporeally focused in a long, long time, not a day goes by that I don't think of her.  And how much I've grown up to be just like her.  Thanks Mom, I miss you!