I don’t exactly remember Green Stamps but I do know my mother furnished my entire nursery with them.  So pretty much ever since I can remember I have appreciated the concept of acquiring something for, well, doing what would have been done anyway.  I have sandwich cards I get punched, we use our credit cards for travel rewards, and I seek out other perks whenever I can, like at the drugstore or the car wash (the fifth one’s free.)  So this year at the grocery store when they asked if I was collecting stamps I said yes without even knowing what was being offered.  Turns out they are pots and pans; one can always use a new skillet.  My husband lives for those stamps.  He puts them in with relish and announces how many more we have to go.  Now our little one wants in on it.  The excitement has mounted as we have nearly filled a whole sheet.  I can remember my folks getting an entire set of Corningware in the ’70’s right in time for Thanksgiving.  They had little blue flowers on them and I still see them in resale shops a lot.  We did not take out our good China that year and it was fun to have everything new.  If I were able to buy all new kitchen cookware I would look for dark blue Le Creuset.  Instead I have an all dark blue set from American cook Rachael Ray, who said:

“Good food and a warm kitchen are what makes a house a home.  I always tried to make my home like my mother’s, because Mom was magnificent at stretching a buck when it came to decorating and food.  Like a true Italian, she valued beautification in every area of her life, and I try to do the same.”

My mother made a great home for my daddy and me — full of music, love, food made from scratch, and imperfection.  I collected those stamps from her one by one, and now I have a whole book to show for them.  I know my daughter is learning from me now, and I hope I am imprinting her with the same stamp.