The best gift I ever received from my mother was the gift of spontaneous giving. My mother and I were in our local drugstore buying necessities for the holidays.
It was one of those lovely neighborhood, family-run places with a soda fountain where we as children gathered after school. There were plenty of penny candies, pharmaceuticals and school supplies.
We were standing in the checkout line behind a man who you could tell by his clothing was not as blessed financially as we were. He had two boxes of Christmas-tree lights in his hand.
When it was his time to checkout, he asked the cashier, “How much are these lights?”
He then said he could not afford that much and walked out of the store. My mother and I proceeded to make our purchases. My mother said to me as we left the store, “I should have bought those lights for that man.”
My mom has been gone for more than 30 years, but I have never forgotten those words.
Incidents happen like that all year round. I have benefited from my mother’s words many times in my life.
By doing something kind for a total stranger it is amazing how much it warms my soul and reminds me of the very special woman who raised me.
