Is there anything I can do?

Mom is forever asking me, "is there anything I can do?" Bless her heart, she spent her best years raising 6 kids and was always busy.  I have a hard time answering this question a dozen times a day. And, in my mind the question has morphed and carries a whole new meaning for me. I feel like she's asking, "is there anything I am ABLE to do?" And it's starting to break my heart when she asks the question. Because, the reality is, there isn't much anymore that she can do. So, the things she does do around her are held in high regard and I always tell her how appreciative we are when she helps with dishes or folding clothes, etc. One of the things she does that I just LOVE is she makes the coffee in the morning. She has always been an early riser and so have I but she still manages to wake up about an hour before I do. She's up around 5:30 and I get up with Stan at 6:30. It's great having a good hot cup of coffee waiting.

The other night I was getting dinner ready and she asked, "is there anything I can do?"

So I said, "sure, Mom. Why don't you set the table." And she began getting out the plates. She set three of them on the table and got the silverware out. Then I told her just to start handing me the plates, one by one, and I would fill them from the stove. She gave me the first one and I put a serving on it and she set it back on the table and handed me the second plate, which I filled. When she turned around to set the second plate down she said, "well, someone already got theirs. There's one here already."  :)

Last night after we finished the dinner dishes I thanked Mom for helping with the washing and she said, "well, it's nothing. I feel like I have to earn my keep around here. You all feed me and keep me." She says this every time I thank her for helping. So Stan said, "the grass needs cut and the gutters need cleaned out, too, Shirlee."  No one laughed harder than Mom. She LOVES Stan. And he jokes with her all the time like that.