I went shopping at the mall yesterday to try to get all of my Christmas shopping done in one day. Almost succeeded. Just two gifts left for my son. I want to get him a new phone because he desperately needs one. His phone no longer takes pictures, fades in and out of wifi and doesn’t hold a charge. I cascaded my old Samsung to him several years ago, and pay for his plan. He spends $250 a month to get himself to school so that was the deal. We can’t afford insurance for him on the car, so he doesn’t drive (which drives me CRAZY). Even during chemo, I drove him to work and picked him up. And I drop him off at the GO Bus and pick him up.
We have our best talks in the car.
It’s a trick I learned from his therapist years ago. Sitting side by side is less invasive than face to face. All of our deep conversations happen in the car, so I am happy to get up at 5:30am to drive him or pick him up at 9:00pm at night. He’s on his own to get to and from the girlfriend’s home in the next town over.
I guess I am a pushover Mom.
His girlfriend loves lambs and sheep so when I found a onesie with a hoodie with sleepy sheep, I bought it for her. When I showed it to my son, he smiled and said “OMG I want one.” Mommy listens, so I put out the request for men’s onesies and thankfully had many sightings from Facebook friends. I will check out all the stores tomorrow, thank you!
No shopping today, but yesterday was a lovely experience. Not one person ran into me or pushed me. It’s amazing that even young children seem to know how to avoid the person who is limping in a cast. No side swipes or knock overs. The one person who almost ran into me apologized … because that is usually what people do when they run into you.
Amazing isn’t it? Kindness and curtesy is still alive. People laughed and talked. Offered me seats. Even had someone step in front of me to say “There is a puddle of water in front of you! Be careful!” I smiled and thanked him, walking around the spill.
I still tire easily. This year has been brutal on my mind, body and spirit. But I still get up every day. Takes more than that to knock me over.
I bought myself a Christmas gift (always do!). Blue velvet boots with 4-inch heels from Steve Madden. The experience of shopping there was so wonderful that I emailed a complimentary note to their Canadian head office to thank my sales person.
Pay it forward this season!
Love,
Lisa