Giving Thanks #2

I come from good stock. I have good genes. I inherited them from my mom.

My mom was very good at finding deals. She got the a kick out of finding something she could enjoy, without paying top dollar for it. She passed that gene onto me. It is a latent gene. I didn't know I had it, until I was running my own household.

Mom found deals in many places. One of these was the local thrift store. She liked to drop in,on errand days. I was often with her. The problem for me, was that the store was right on the main drag. I was so embarrassed that Mom dragged me to these places. I was a teenager, more concerned about my perceived reputation, than the thrill of the hunt. We lived in the part of town, where the most # of millionaires per capita resided. And I was terribly afraid that one of them would see me walking in there with my mother, and that, whatever I wore to school the next day, they would think I got it there. If Mom insisted that I go in with her, I would glance around, before entering, to ensure I didn't see anyone [i.e. the kids of the millionaires] watching.

I wish I'd known. No one paid attention to me. I bet those people I was so worried about don't even remember me. I shouldn't have bothered worrying about what other people would think. They thought very little of me. I should have held my head high, waltzed into the thrift store with mom, and enjoyed the 'next-to-free'- worry-free.

Now that I'm all growed up, I know better. Like I said - it is a latent gene. If I have a bit of time, I head over to the thrift store to poke around. I don't care who sees me in there. And if someone gives me a compliment on something I bought at said thrift store, I just say a polite 'thank you' and inwardly smile to myself ,(just like Mom did), about having such fun for a buck or less.

Mom knew that another great place to find items is a garage sale. In those days, it wasn't so hip to go garage saleing, but Mom didn't care. She and Dad would head out on a Saturday and find all sorts of things. The Garage-Sale gene is another one I inherited. I get itchy feet if I don't stop to attend at least one garage sale each week of the season.

If you come for a visit, you'll see our beautiful vanity lights in the bathrooms. I won't mention it to you, but they were bought at a garage sale. They were brand new! They hadn't even been taken out of the boxes! The people who sold them to me, bought something else and didn't feel like taking them back to the store. And my lips will be sealed about the pull- out faucet and soap dispenser. Same garage sale. They took it out, to put something fancy-schmancy in, and gave it to me at such a deal, it was almost free! [Insert happy dance here]

Yes, the Garage-Sale gene is alive and well in me. And even better than thrift stores, or garage sales, is free. I'm always on the prowl for things to make my life better. And nothing could have been better, than when someone heard me mention we no longer had a toilet, and they offered me the perfectly good one they had sitting in their garage - for free!

Or when I casually talked about my non-existent kitchen and someone said "I have a portable dishwasher - do you want it?" DO I WANT A PORTABLE DISHWASHER? Are you kidding me? Who cares that I have no place to store the dishes! I won't have to wash them all by hand and it's free?!! I'm in!

Sometimes, when I get a treasure for cheap, or free, I smile to myself . "Mom would be so proud that these genes are alive and well in her youngest." This Thanksgiving, I am so thankful for good genes.