It began innocently...always with a giving heart...always given back because of stubbornness. I remember as a child visiting my grandparents (my mom's parents) and when we were leaving, my grandma would always try and slip my mother money for whatever reason. My mom did whatever she could to return it and refuse it...with as much grace as she could muster.
My mom threw a baby shower today for my cousin's baby...and all I had to do was show up with some grapes. Grapes that when I passed them through the u-scan cost almost 15 dollars. I only know how to buy in excess...another gift I received from my mom. I washed them, clipped them, brought them to my mom's.
At the end of the shower, I was talking with my sister and she was trying to get me to go out to dinner with my family. After balancing my checkbook, I was shocked to see how much money I had...I guess the swiping of my card has been a little out of control lately, so in an effort to cut back, I felt going out to dinner would not be a good thing when I have tons of grapes in my frig (other food too). I hate wasting it. And yes, I admit it...I was being extremely stubborn. I had made panko crusted chicken earlier and wanted nothing more than to go to my own house, put on sweats, relax, and do chores all around my house. Stubborn to an nth degree!
I was talking to my sister, trying to reason to her why I wasn't going to stay. (In the back of my mind, I am justifying it since I'll get to see her Friday night and spend part of the day with her on Saturday.) I saw my mom rummage through her coat pockets and then check out the Sharkies (energy supplement when I'm running) in my bag. As she was looking at the bag, I saw a motion that made me suspicious. Sure enough, as I pulled out item after item, I saw the green rolled up wad of dollar bills. Without her seeing, I quickly grabbed them and passed them onto my step-dad.
She has turned in my grandma and I have turned into my mother...
Did she find out that I gave the money back? Yes. Were her feelings hurt? I don't know. It's not that I need the money. I think it comes down to not wanting my parents to struggle financially. I'm doing okay on my own. I have a surplus in my accounts and I pay my bills on time. I just shouldn't go spend extravagantly right now.
And maybe the bigger question in my life right now is why am I writing my slice about leaving my family rather than the time I had with them? If I figure out the answer, I'll let you know.
4 comments:
My husband always teases me about becoming my mother. It is hard to take money from them now that we are adults, isn't it!?
Wondering if it's your older sister? Older sisters, it seems, like to be pushy. With limited free time it's hard to give it up-even for family-sometimes. The voice in your slice made me feel your frustration.
I think you wrote about your time because you had an aaha moment that you were more like your mom than you thought.
I agree with Lennye it sounds like you had one of those moments where you figured out Oh, that's why... Your voice rang through the piece it felt as though you were sitting right next to me discussing your moment.
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