In the spirit of the season, I’ll share a story of generosity. The true story of my mother, who’s an incredibly giving and generous person. Especially with other people’s stuff.
You see, my mom has been working with various charities through the years. She’s always found painting, sewing and preparing things for sale in countless bazaars, when she’s not teaching orphans. Sadly, she tends to get carried away.
Growing up, I never knew whether I’d find my clothes in my closet, or if she would have given them away to a passerby, or to be sold off at a bazaar. Nor was I alone in my predicament; my father suffered the same fate. To illustrate my point, consider the case of the disappearing pair of jeans.
My dad had this pair of jeans that he loved. He’s a rotund fellow (albeit less so, nowadays) and that one pair of trousers fit him perfectly. He loved them. But one day he opened his closet and they had disappeared. Since my mom also kept misplacing our stuff in the process of tidying up, he was hardly surprised. After some futile searching, he resigned to his fate and was marched off to the church bazaar to buy a replacement, am my mom’s behest. She argued there were poor people who would benefit far more from his money that a shop owner, and who can argue with that? (Yes, I realize that a shop owner might, but anyway).
So, he raked the bazaar shelves and lo and behold – he found a pair of jeans that fit him just as perfectly as the lost ones! He tried them on, and was ecstatic. Then he reached into the pocket and fished out a couple of hand-written notes. In his own handwriting.
You can guess the rest.
The funniest thing about all this is not that my mom still made him pay to buy his own trousers back. No, the funniest thing is that the next month she pulled off the same trick, and he had to buy them back for a second time…
Happy holidays, everyone – and be generous. If you can do it with someone else’s goods, even better. Turns out this, too, is in the spirit of Christmas! 🙂
Feeling generous? Give your friends the ultimate Christmas gift by taking advantage of my best offer so far: the three-book bundle of Pearseus! They can read all the books in my best-selling epic fantasy series for only 99c.
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Amos M. Carpenter said:
Sounds like quite the character. Merry Christmas to you and your whole family, Nicholas 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Oh, she is, Amos. She is… 😀
Hope you had a great one! 🙂
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MM Jaye said:
A very merry Christmas! Now I know who you took after in terms of generosity… 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Aw, that’s so sweet of you, thanks! 🙂
Hope you had a great one! 🙂
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Beth Mikell said:
Beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it. 🙂 Merry Christmas…
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you for reading it! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
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Connie Flanagan said:
Lol. This year I bought some very soft slippers with non-slip soles for my sister at a hospital gift shop while visiting a friend. As it turned out, he was out for tests, so I visited with his roommate. She happened to complain that her feet were always cold and that she had no slippers. Of course, I gave my sister’s slippers to her, and they were a perfect fit! When I told my sister why she would receive one less gift, she thanked me!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Aw, that’s such a sweet story – and well within the Christmas spirit! I hope your friend is better, and that you all had a great Christmas! 🙂
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Connie Flanagan said:
My friend was home for Christmas! The best gift I could have asked for!
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Jassie said:
Reblogged this on International Book Promotion.
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julietaharoni said:
Nicholas, you have an adorable mother. Do you take after her? Silly question you might think……………… but not really.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – thanks! Yes, I do take after her in many ways, bless her heart. All the good stuff, mind you. The bad stuff is all her. 😉
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~REBECCA DAWN~ said:
Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks! I hope you had a lovely Christmas, and that you have great new year! 🙂
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Suzanne Joshi said:
Really funny story Nicholas. 😀 Perfect for Christmas. Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – thanks, Suzanne! Glad you enjoyed it! Sadly, as with all my family stories, every word is true! 😀
Hope you had a great one! 🙂
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erikakind said:
Your mother is so smart… making money within the family. Too funny! Merry Christmas, Nicholas🎅
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – yes, smart is one way to describe it. 😀
Hope you had a great one! 🙂
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erikakind said:
I guess this way you learned to never lose humor… 😉 We enjoyed Christmas a lot hope so did you!
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purrfectkitties said:
Merry Christmas to you too! 🙂 xx Roxy & Tigerlino ❤
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Purry cuddles to you both! ❤
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M T McGuire said:
My husband tidies my stuff away and then forgets where it is. Since I don’t know it might as well have been given to the church bazaar.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I once wrote a short story about coloured pencils leaving the planet through a wormhole to enjoy life on a planet uniquely suited to their needs (I may have been reading Douglas Adams at the time). Perhaps that’s what happens and hubbys’s innocent after all? 😀
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Charles Yallowitz said:
That was funny. Something tells me you have many fun stories along these lines. Merry Christmas.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Oh, don’t get me started, Charles. Don’t get me started… 😀
Hope you had a great Hanukkah! 🙂
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Charles Yallowitz said:
It was fun. Hope you had a good Christmas.
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utahrob said:
LOL MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
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suecoletta said:
You mother sounds like a terrific lady. Merry Christmas, Nicholas!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – sure, let’s go with terrific. 😀 Hope you had a great one! 🙂
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Effrosyni Moschoudi said:
Funny story, Nicholas. I can imagine your mum has been very generous to you too in a way through her generous activities to others. I mean, there must be many funny stories and that’s material, dear. Hope you’ll write a family comedy one day and put it all in, it would be a blast 🙂 Best wishes for the holiday season 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I should so do that!! 😀 I mean, you already know some of the stories, but there’s enough to write a whole series…
Hope you and Andy had a great one! 🙂
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mfnaughton said:
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you so much for sharing!!! Hope you had a great Christmas 🙂
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Elle Boca said:
Merry Christmas and thanks for sharing your mom and dad’s story!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks, Elle! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
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johnfioravanti said:
Merry Christmas, Nicholas! Thank you for the sweet story about your Mom!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks, John! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
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johnfioravanti said:
Yay! I finally figured out how to reblog! Your Christmas story is now on Fiora Books’ A Writer’s Life!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – not a post I expected to see reblogged, but I’m grateful for your share! 🙂
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gpcox said:
I wish you and yours the very best in Holiday Seasons!! Merry Christmas.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
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mandy said:
What a wonderful story- thank you for sharing!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks! As with all my family stories, the sad thing is that every word is true! 😀
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mandy said:
I completely get that, Nicholas. Same with me. I guess we never have to worry about writer’s block 🙂
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nataliescarberry said:
Merry Christmas! 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks, Natalie! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
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Elle Knowles said:
I’m glad your dad ‘found’ his beloved jeans before someone else did – both times! 😉
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – as was he. I’m sure I mentioned his… erm… unique shape, right? 😀
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mihrank said:
Special wishes for a Christmas, that brighten you destiny
May the moon of the Christmas season spread the christmas cheers
Have a Merry Christmas with full of cheer and Happiness! unique and colorful Christmas wishes for you peoples!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks, Mihran! Hope you had a great one! 🙂
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