31 Beautiful Things, Day 24: Shopping with My Mother

Yesterday I had the pleasure of shopping with my mother. Shopping is something we've always loved to do together. Even in the days when I was a teenager and I didn't think my mother liked me very much, we always loved clothes shopping together. She taught me to be a bargain shopper, so we always headed straight for the clearance racks. I can think of few clothing items I have ever actually bought full price.

My mother is 85 now. She aches all the time, from the base of her neck straight down to her left leg. My father does 95% of the grocery shopping, although my mother makes the lists. After our hour's shopping trip yesterday to one store, my mother will probably be in terrible pain today. But she will have said it was worth every ache.

It's not about a new pair of pants or a blue jacket that matches her eyes. The beauty is in the little moments seized while we still can and in the continuing of tradition across so many years. A girl and her mom, shopping.