My Mom and her friends

My Mom took me out to lunch yesterday. She brought her friends, Ruth and Irma with her. They are all in the 80's. They have know each other for a long time. Ruth and Irma have kids that went to school with me and we all went to the same church. Irma worked at the high school as a study hall monitor and Ruth was my Sunday school teacher. They hang out together as they have all outlived their husbands. They love to shop....Coldwater Creek is their favorite store. When they get sales notices they hop in the car and show up before the store opens so they can park right in front. They also love to gamble. They hop a bus and head up to Detroit so they can play the slot machines.....the penny slot machines. Ruth has a "friend" the last I heard, but Mom and Irma are of the same mind....been there, done that. They don't want to have to take care of another man in their lifetime. I sat and listened to them talk about their lives when they were young and raising their families. They had none of the conveniences that we take for granted. They washed clothes in a wringer washing machine and hung the clothes outside to dry...even in the winter. Mom talked about how she made our diapers ....there was no such thing as "Huggies". I honestly don't know how they took care of a husband/kids, kept the house clean, grew vegetables and stocked the freezer for the winter, found time to make our clothes, got involved in school and church. They are incredible.