Pay It Forward

Many of us hear stories about how our parents lived when they were our age, and let's face it, they were stinkin' poor.  (Sorry Mom, I have to tell stories.)  My mom always had uneven hair because she cut it herself.  She made her own clothes, and let's just say she'll never appear on Project Runway.  She hand-washed my brother's cloth diapers to save money.  She picked up the skill of being able to make an incredible casserole out of only ketchup and a can of olives.  As I got older, I can remember her never spending a dime on herself, that way she could afford things like new school clothes and braces for me. 

When my mom visited last week, she took me shopping for new clothes, and still only bought a few things for herself after I insisted.  She bought Mike and I dinner, and would only let me buy one lunch after I kept insisting.  I've been feeling badly, because here's the thing: I'm 32 years old.  I should be Paying It Forward, and buying her clothes.  Mike and I should be paying the dinner bills when we go out with our parents.  We should be giving them gas money.  We should be offering that they move in with us if they lose their jobs.

But we're not.

When is it our turn?  I know a lot of people in my generation feel like we owe our parents a lot for all the years they've suffered to make sure we never did without.

For me, I'm still waiting to get a fabulous PR job, or to publish my first book, so for now, I can only thank you Mom.  I promise, someday it will be my turn.