When I was in Elementary School, my mama sent lunch money with me in the tiny bags that came around her packs of cigarettes. She'd give me forty cents a day, and sometimes a little extra for ice cream. One day I remember the lunch ladies asking me, "where does your mom find these little bags? They're so handy!" And I remember blushing when I said they were from Doral Full Flavor 100's - probably from feeling proud and embarrassed all at once.

I think it's so fitting that now - now that I'm getting ready to leave for college - she's sending all my things with me in boxes she took from behind her favorite bingo parlor. She's still as resourceful as ever. Plus it means a lot that even when she's dealing with her favorite things, she still looks for ways to make me happy. What a gal, that mama of mine!