A NON-$ Brag

[avoncallingu]

My Mum is 84. For various reasons she has given up driving and so now I am the family chauffeur. It makes me grumble sometimes when I get a call to take her somewhere on the last minute. But today on a beautiful, sunny fall day, I realized that I have the honour and pleasure of spending time with a woman who has taught me to count my pennies; appreciate the things that have no price like the geese paddling on the river, share my bounty when I have it and be appreciative of the kindness that other people show. She is thrilled when she can find bargains at Value Village that she can give away to others. Every shopping trip takes 4X as long as it would take me but that's because she "chucks" little children on the chin and tells them how good they're being for their mums, she meets countless people she has known over the years who always have a hug or a kiss for her. She makes a few mistakes putting her "self-check" through but is ever so kind to the lady who helps her. She tells exaggerated stories to anyone who will listen about MY accomplishments as well as my brothers'. She shows her latest pictures of her grandsons (my nephews) and takes time to sneak a peak at her favourite picture of my dad, who left this world over 10 years ago. She calls everyone "Love". And she walks VERY SLOWLY, but her hand grip crushes mine as we "link arms" to walk from the car to the store where she can negotiate around with the help of the cart. I'm looking forward to next year and hoping that we can make this kind of trip again on a sunny fall afternoon.

Some brags come without a pricetag.

[ljude]

Your brag warmed my heart. God bless your mom and you!

[luckymom]

aww you brought tears to my eyes. Great Brag

[tasha313]

Wow.. thanks so much for sharing im speechless .. one of my favourite brags so far.

[avoncallingu]

Thank you for your kind comments!

[rhiannon1891]

thats awesome, thanks for sharing such a great post!

[Tuktu60]

Makes me want to go hang out with my grandma. Great post

[Litesandsirens911]

I really miss my grandmother...and my Mom(Gradma passed away 11 years ago and Mom is away for a month taking care of her brother who has cancer..)
This is the best brag of all...cherish the time spent with loved ones.
Thank you for sharing.

[sassypants]

This is the sweetest brag of all! I only wish I had that time back with my grandparents (who I find I am still learning from and learning about as I get older) ... but as I take care of my mother, I know that even though may not be as patient as I think I am, love is always there ...

[leopakes]

This literally brought tears to my eyes. My own Mom passed away 14 years ago and I'd give anything to have the same time you do.

A heartfelt thumbs up to you for realizing how truly fortunate you are.

[iloveluca]

Loves it. I totally heart this brag, which is real, heartfelt, honest and about one of the things that really matters in life. Thanks for sharing this

[KouponKlipper]

wow..thx...i got goosebumps...i am in a similar situation...

[Elin]

awww....very heart warming.

[Natalka]

Oh, man, you made me cry, avoncallingu!
You are indeed blessed to still have your mom! She's close to the age my mom would have been if she were still here...

This literally brought tears to my eyes. My own Mom passed away 14 years ago and I'd give anything to have the same time you do.

A heartfelt thumbs up to you for realizing how truly fortunate you are.

Same here, leopakes - my mom passed away 13 years ago when she was only 69, and I miss everything about her! Amongst many endearing things about her, she was a GREAT shopper - had to be, with six kids!

[alleykatt592]

Beautiful.....it is so easy to get caught up in our lives and rushing around that we forget about the people who matter most. Everyone should have an a-ha moment like this. Thanks for sharing.