Olivia Newport Mom and Tag

Photo by Larry Mohr

While visiting my mom, I was heading to the grocery store for a few things. Mom opted to stay home. But before I left she waved a couple of twenty dollar bills in front of me.

I said she could hang onto her cash, and she said,

“I have more of these. I have a really good quality copy machine.”

Of course I laughed. Really, my 85-year-old mother counterfeiting money? That’s the stuff of a novel!

The more profound statement she was making is that is money is not really the stuff of life. That’s hard for me to remember when I’m fretting about paying next month’s bills, but it’s still true.

• What helps you to let money worries fade to the background and bring to the front more enduring life values?