In the spirit of the season, I’ll share a story of generosity. The true story of my mother, who’s an incredibly giving and generous person. Especially with other people’s stuff.
You see, my mom has been working with various charities through the years. She’s always found painting, sewing and preparing things for sale in countless bazaars, when she’s not teaching orphans. Sadly, she tends to get carried away.
Growing up, I never knew whether I’d find my clothes in my closet, or if she would have given them away to a passerby, or to be sold off at a bazaar. Nor was I alone in my predicament; my father suffered the same fate. To illustrate my point, consider the case of the disappearing pair of jeans.
My dad had this pair of jeans that he loved. He’s a rotund fellow (albeit less so, nowadays) and that one pair of trousers fit him perfectly. He loved them. But one day he opened his closet and they had disappeared. Since my mom also kept misplacing our stuff in the process of tidying up, he was hardly surprised. After some futile searching, he resigned to his fate and was marched off to the church bazaar to buy a replacement, am my mom’s behest. She argued there were poor people who would benefit far more from his money that a shop owner, and who can argue with that? (Yes, I realize that a shop owner might, but anyway).
So, he raked the bazaar shelves and lo and behold – he found a pair of jeans that fit him just as perfectly as the lost ones! He tried them on, and was ecstatic. Then he reached into the pocket and fished out a couple of hand-written notes. In his own handwriting.
You can guess the rest.
The funniest thing about all this is not that my mom still made him pay to buy his own trousers back. No, the funniest thing is that the next month she pulled off the same trick, and he had to buy them back for a second time…
Happy holidays, everyone – and be generous. If you can do it with someone else’s goods, even better. Turns out this, too, is in the spirit of Christmas! 🙂
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Merry Christmas to Nicholas and family.
Thank you, Juliet 🙂
Special wishes for a Christmas, that brighten you destiny
May the moon of the Christmas season spread the christmas cheers
Have a Merry Christmas with full of cheer and Happiness! unique and colorful Christmas wishes for you peoples!
Thanks, Mihran! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
I’m glad your dad ‘found’ his beloved jeans before someone else did – both times! 😉
Lol – as was he. I’m sure I mentioned his… erm… unique shape, right? 😀
Merry Christmas! 🙂
Thanks, Natalie! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
What a wonderful story- thank you for sharing!
Thanks! As with all my family stories, the sad thing is that every word is true! 😀
I completely get that, Nicholas. Same with me. I guess we never have to worry about writer’s block 🙂
I wish you and yours the very best in Holiday Seasons!! Merry Christmas.
Thank you! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
Yay! I finally figured out how to reblog! Your Christmas story is now on Fiora Books’ A Writer’s Life!
Lol – not a post I expected to see reblogged, but I’m grateful for your share! 🙂
Merry Christmas, Nicholas! Thank you for the sweet story about your Mom!
Thanks, John! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
Merry Christmas and thanks for sharing your mom and dad’s story!
Thanks, Elle! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/232850243210015839/
Thank you so much for sharing!!! Hope you had a great Christmas 🙂
Funny story, Nicholas. I can imagine your mum has been very generous to you too in a way through her generous activities to others. I mean, there must be many funny stories and that’s material, dear. Hope you’ll write a family comedy one day and put it all in, it would be a blast 🙂 Best wishes for the holiday season 🙂
I should so do that!! 😀 I mean, you already know some of the stories, but there’s enough to write a whole series…
Hope you and Andy had a great one! 🙂
You mother sounds like a terrific lady. Merry Christmas, Nicholas!
Lol – sure, let’s go with terrific. 😀 Hope you had a great one! 🙂
LOL MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Thanks! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
That was funny. Something tells me you have many fun stories along these lines. Merry Christmas.
Oh, don’t get me started, Charles. Don’t get me started… 😀
Hope you had a great Hanukkah! 🙂
It was fun. Hope you had a good Christmas.
My husband tidies my stuff away and then forgets where it is. Since I don’t know it might as well have been given to the church bazaar.
I once wrote a short story about coloured pencils leaving the planet through a wormhole to enjoy life on a planet uniquely suited to their needs (I may have been reading Douglas Adams at the time). Perhaps that’s what happens and hubbys’s innocent after all? 😀
Merry Christmas to you too! 🙂 xx Roxy & Tigerlino <3
Purry cuddles to you both! <3
Your mother is so smart… making money within the family. Too funny! Merry Christmas, Nicholas
Lol – yes, smart is one way to describe it. 😀
Hope you had a great one! 🙂
I guess this way you learned to never lose humor… 😉 We enjoyed Christmas a lot hope so did you!
Really funny story Nicholas. 😀 Perfect for Christmas. Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. 🙂
Lol – thanks, Suzanne! Glad you enjoyed it! Sadly, as with all my family stories, every word is true! 😀
Hope you had a great one! 🙂
Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year!
Thanks! I hope you had a lovely Christmas, and that you have great new year! 🙂
Nicholas, you have an adorable mother. Do you take after her? Silly question you might think……………… but not really.
Lol – thanks! Yes, I do take after her in many ways, bless her heart. All the good stuff, mind you. The bad stuff is all her. 😉
Reblogged this on International Book Promotion.
Lol. This year I bought some very soft slippers with non-slip soles for my sister at a hospital gift shop while visiting a friend. As it turned out, he was out for tests, so I visited with his roommate. She happened to complain that her feet were always cold and that she had no slippers. Of course, I gave my sister’s slippers to her, and they were a perfect fit! When I told my sister why she would receive one less gift, she thanked me!
Aw, that’s such a sweet story – and well within the Christmas spirit! I hope your friend is better, and that you all had a great Christmas! 🙂
My friend was home for Christmas! The best gift I could have asked for!
Beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it. 🙂 Merry Christmas…
Thank you for reading it! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
A very merry Christmas! Now I know who you took after in terms of generosity… 🙂
Aw, that’s so sweet of you, thanks! 🙂
Hope you had a great one! 🙂
Sounds like quite the character. Merry Christmas to you and your whole family, Nicholas 🙂
Oh, she is, Amos. She is… 😀
Hope you had a great one! 🙂