So today, I deposited 36 dollars into my bank account, expecting that to bring my grand total in my checking account to 37 dollars and some change. I deposited the money with the intention of buying 2bg of RAM for my laptop. I haven't had a steady job for a couple months and really haven't had any money since then. I've been really wanting this computer memory for a long time.
I checked my bank account before attempting to buy the RAM and was extremely (pleasantly) surprised to see that I have just north of 1,100 dollars in my account. My tax refund had come in within the past couple weeks and direct deposited it into my bank account. While I admit that I plan on getting myself a couple toys, including the RAM upgrade I originally wanted to buy, as well as an internal hard drive and DVD superdrive for my laptop and a camcorder for my youtube videos, I'm also really happy to be able to get my mom a Christmas gift for the first time in a couple years. I usually never have money around this time of year and we really don't "celebrate" Christmas really, since she's the only real family I have(my douchebag dad who rarely makes an effort to contact me doesn't count) and I'm pretty much the only family she has close by. Most of her relatives are in Colombia still.
This gift for her really important for me because my parents have been divorced since I was like 4 years old and my mom has pretty much been raising me single handedly. She's worked really hard to make sure we lived comfortably over the past 20 years. She doesn't make a lot of money but has made sure that even when we lived in a city filled with gangs, that we lived in an area where I wouldn't have to be around that outside my window.
I've put her through a lot of shit, including having to see her only son go to jail. While I value every decision I've made and regret none of them, including the ones that have gotten me in trouble and might seem unwise to a stand-up, law abiding citizen, I do feel bad over the emotional strain they've put on her. There are times when I've thought that she deserved a "better" son, whatever that's supposed to mean. I know now that it'd be much better just to show her she did a good job with the only chance she got.
Of course, I don't plan on just stopping there. When I'm older I'd love to buy her a place in Colombia, because I know she misses her country and her family terribly. After she's given so much for me, that's the least I could do. Without her, I wouldn't be the person I am today. While I make A LOT of mistakes and have made decisions that some would find questionable, I feel like I'm a good person. I owe that to her as well, because there isn't a nicer, more honest person I've ever known in the world.
I'm an Athiest and don't believe in "Christmas" in the religious sense of the holiday and despise the consumerist attitude put forth by the American media and stores this time a year, but I do think it's good that people take the time to appreciate their family. Family for me is my mom and I'm really glad I'm in a position to put a smile on her face this year.
I checked my bank account before attempting to buy the RAM and was extremely (pleasantly) surprised to see that I have just north of 1,100 dollars in my account. My tax refund had come in within the past couple weeks and direct deposited it into my bank account. While I admit that I plan on getting myself a couple toys, including the RAM upgrade I originally wanted to buy, as well as an internal hard drive and DVD superdrive for my laptop and a camcorder for my youtube videos, I'm also really happy to be able to get my mom a Christmas gift for the first time in a couple years. I usually never have money around this time of year and we really don't "celebrate" Christmas really, since she's the only real family I have(my douchebag dad who rarely makes an effort to contact me doesn't count) and I'm pretty much the only family she has close by. Most of her relatives are in Colombia still.
This gift for her really important for me because my parents have been divorced since I was like 4 years old and my mom has pretty much been raising me single handedly. She's worked really hard to make sure we lived comfortably over the past 20 years. She doesn't make a lot of money but has made sure that even when we lived in a city filled with gangs, that we lived in an area where I wouldn't have to be around that outside my window.
I've put her through a lot of shit, including having to see her only son go to jail. While I value every decision I've made and regret none of them, including the ones that have gotten me in trouble and might seem unwise to a stand-up, law abiding citizen, I do feel bad over the emotional strain they've put on her. There are times when I've thought that she deserved a "better" son, whatever that's supposed to mean. I know now that it'd be much better just to show her she did a good job with the only chance she got.
Of course, I don't plan on just stopping there. When I'm older I'd love to buy her a place in Colombia, because I know she misses her country and her family terribly. After she's given so much for me, that's the least I could do. Without her, I wouldn't be the person I am today. While I make A LOT of mistakes and have made decisions that some would find questionable, I feel like I'm a good person. I owe that to her as well, because there isn't a nicer, more honest person I've ever known in the world.
I'm an Athiest and don't believe in "Christmas" in the religious sense of the holiday and despise the consumerist attitude put forth by the American media and stores this time a year, but I do think it's good that people take the time to appreciate their family. Family for me is my mom and I'm really glad I'm in a position to put a smile on her face this year.
jkricket:
That's great... it's always nice to find extra money! And you're putting it to good use. It seems to always go the other way for me, my money often goes MIA. haha