I know it's not Thursday, but I thought this would be a good way to get back on track with my blog. I'm combining a Thankful Thursday with a Frugal Friday.  Read on and you'll see how...

Today would have been Mom's 75^th birthday. Mom died in March this year. I am thankful for the mother I had. Mom was a lot of fun when she was well. In her later years mental illness caught up with her, making it difficult to communicate and help her. Ultimately it claimed her life when she committed suicide. I learned a lot about patience and love from spending time with Mom in her later years. I learned a lot about helping other people, and a lot about mental illness.

Mom was my mentor in a lot of ways. She was a practical and pragmatic person. She was always open and accepting of new people. I find that harder than she seemed to. When she was well she always had a twinkle in her eye. She loved to play the “Proud to be Irish” line, and it didn't surprise me one bit to find coffee mugs at her place that said “Kiss Me I'm Irish”, with a little leprechaun in the bottom of the mug with upturned face!

Mom could be a lot of fun. When I homeschooled the girls she would phone periodically to see how I was doing. When she sensed frustration she'd say “Why don't you come over for a stress break?” I took her up on that once a year – usually at the end of winter.

One year she insisted on paying my airfare. We were strapped for cash, and I was so grateful. Imagine my surprise when I landed and she informed me she had also bought tickets to the opera (“Carmen”) and we were eating supper out the entire time, and there was one night where I could chose to do whatever I wanted.

What a week! It's the first and last time I've ever been in a restaurant with a menu with no pricing. My blood pressure can't take that kind of dining. It's just plain stressful having to go all the way through supper worrying about how much the bill will be – even if your mother is paying!

Thankfully she managed to buy 'rush' tickets to live theatre. For $10 each we were able to see “Romeo and Juliet” and “Camelot”. Plus for $5 each we took in a very good choral production at the local university.

We took in some swimming, got haircuts from her discount beauty parlour, walked in the park, stopped at retirement homes for her to have a look, went shopping and did some errands I couldn't get done locally. I was able to gawk at one of the best jewelry stores in the area when we went there on business. Gorgeous handcrafted jewelry...real art. I also was able to go through several art galleries. We went to church together and visited family.

I remember lamenting to Mom at the end of the trip about the cost of having me there. She was surprised and told me it cost her less than $500, including the airfare (which was cheap back then!). The most expensive part, aside from the airfare, was the opera she claims, at $80 a ticket! She assured me those were the cheap seats...

That trip was one memory Mom gave me I'll never forget. I miss Mom a lot these days. But when I'm stressed now, I smile as I think of Mom, tell myself “It's time for a stress break”, and start planning my next trip...