I have been reading and your book and using it as a study — Chapter 18.

My mom has been saying over and over that she needs something to do.  She says she does not have enough to do and no one needs her anymore.

So I tried an experiment this week that I hope will work in many areas of her and my life.  I love to clean house (it is a stress reliever for me) — but hate grocery shopping — so I said to mom…

Would you like to do my grocery shopping for my family on Mondays while I do my weekly cleaning — I will pay for your groceries too and give you $20.00 for gas to come over to do it.  (Mom rarely spends over $30.00 per week in groceries).  I told her to go to Fareway — they put the groceries in your car and when she gets to my house — I will unload them.  My cleaning for the week would be done and then I would take her out to lunch.  We tried it on Monday.

It worked!  It was a win/win situation.  I got rid of a chore I did not like — mom got her groceries and gas for the week and something to do.  Plus lunch.

I also told her that if any time she did not like doing this – then no worries.  I also told her I understand that she would not want to do it in the winter.

I told her how much "she" was helping me out because grocery shopping is an activity I hate.

Your book is teaching me some new skills — I thank you.  I gave permission to myself to ask for help and gave my mom "a sense of being needed."  Win/win.

Sue