17 Moments That Prove Moms and Grandmas Always Find a Way to Show Love, Even When They Have Almost Nothing to Give

• As a kid, I was a picky eater: I only ate plain mashed potatoes with patties. Grandma dreamed of getting me to eat soup, but I always made excuses. So she came up with a clever plan, and suddenly I was gobbling up soup like there was no tomorrow!
  My mom even wondered what the secret was. The funny fact is that my grandma had somehow found out I was saving money to buy something “serious” later on, so she introduced a “soup salary”: one bowl — 50 cents.

• It started when I was little. We were dirt poor, and Mom didn’t know how she would fill our stockings.
  Toys were out of the question, and even candy wasn’t in the budget. But... pickles could be bought with food stamps, and if she scrimped a little on other things, she could make it work. And we kids loved pickles!
  Fast forward to adulthood, we’re all doing much better now, Mom came over to top off the Christmas stockings with treats and toys...
  “Mom, where are the pickles?”
  “What? You really liked that?”
  “Yes! Yes, I did! I look forward to my Christmas pickles! Sheesh! Is it even Christmas without pickles? What about my kids? They’ve never even had a Christmas without pickles!”
  My mother, bless her, didn’t point out that I was a grown adult that could now buy my own groceries. She understood that it was about more than the pickles themselves (though I do still love a good pickle). And every year since, there have been pickles in the Christmas stockings.

• I don’t know what happened to me in a past life, but in this one, I’ve been unbelievably lucky. Our family has a wonderful grandma — level-headed, welcoming, and with a great sense of humor. Besides pies and soups which she considers the mandatory program, there’s also a freestyle program.
  That’s when she takes the kids for the weekend: from Friday evening until Sunday lunch, once a month. And not as a reward for good behavior, not for New Year’s or a birthday, but just because, with the words: “You two have things to do.”
  I love my children very much, but I also certainly don’t mind getting proper sleep for 2 days off in a row.

• When my mom visited me at the dorm, she always did a deep clean, washed everything, and made lunch. During the 3 days she stayed, my roommates and I became well-behaved girls and beloved daughters. To this day, my friends send their best wishes to my mom and remember her tasty fish patties.
  She taught us how to make them, too: you have to whip the ground fish until it triples in size, and add only salt, pepper, and water; otherwise, the patties will smell too strongly of fish. The fish needs to be fresh, from the sea, and not repeatedly frozen. You can also add some wild garlic.

It’s based on another dress she has. It’s my first time doing shirring and using a serger, both very satisfying! Next to make a matching one for her little sister. I hope it lasts through all the play and dirt I’m sure it’ll see!

• I had to move to another region for work for 6 months, and the company was covering my housing. I found an affordable room in a large apartment through an ad, and the landlady turned out to be a sweet older woman. The room was great, fully furnished, so of course I agreed.
  On my first morning, I got up for work and smelled something amazing coming from the kitchen. I walked in, and the table was loaded: pancakes, little pies, meat, scrambled eggs. I ate to my heart’s content.
  That evening, I came home to another wonderful dinner already set out. I got a little wary, but she talked me into having dinner with her and kept sharing all kinds of stories. This went on for a week. I offered her money and brought bags of groceries, but she always turned them down.
  I mentioned it at work, and one coworker, as it turned out, knew my landlady. It turned out she was well-off; her children had moved abroad permanently, she was incredibly lonely, and she simply had nowhere to put all her care and warmth. And then I happened to come along.
  All in all, she was an absolute gem of a woman. Over those 6 months, I even gained some weight. When I left, I secretly put a gift for her in the closet, knowing she wouldn’t accept it in person. I kept hoping I’d get sent there on a business trip again, but alas, they never sent me back.

• Before my third baby arrived, my elderly neighbor came over to tell me I could always count on her, and that she’d be happy to watch my children — all together or one at a time — whenever I needed. I haven’t needed to take her up on it yet, but it’s so touching to be surrounded by such kind and caring people.

• I’m just a simple country girl. There are 3 girls in our family. Our parents worked from morning till night, so our grandmother raised us.
  To her, we were the most beautiful, the smartest, the kindest, the most capable around the house, and simply the best in every way. She could scold us herself and raise us with firm discipline, but no one else was allowed to.
  One time, our parents brought us shorts from the city. We were walking down the village street, and back then people didn’t really dress like that. But grandma instantly shut everyone up: “Young girls can wear that!”
  That unconditional love gave us rock-solid confidence. My husband says I act as if I’m the one and only crown princess of the entire kingdom. I always had plenty of admirers, and if some guys somewhere didn’t notice me, that was their problem.
  Comments about my appearance? Please... Grandma taught us: clothes should be clean and neat, and everything else depends on what you can manage. I want to be the same kind of grandmother.

• I had an amazing childhood. My grandmother worked as an elementary school teacher for 40 years. She truly loved her students, and when she retired, I came into the world.
  When I was about 6 or 7, my mom brought me to my grandmother’s village, and there... I had my own little house in the lilac bushes, with shelves and dishes. I was thrilled!
  Then my grandmother taught me how to “bake” little pies and gingerbread cookies out of clay and dry them on a tray in the sun. I was such a good little homemaker. I invited guests over and treated them to tea with my clay masterpieces!

• My sweet grandma became everything to me. We lived together, went shopping, and cooked together. She was always happy to welcome my friends to our place, and we would have dance parties, movie nights, or fashion shows.
  In the evenings, my grandma and I read books, she taught me how to sew, knit, bake the most delicious pies, and make the thinnest crepes. She always told me to study and work, and I really did get a scholarship at a good university and started working early.
  With the money I earned, we renovated my grandma’s room — I insisted on it myself, even though she didn’t want to. Then we did a beautiful renovation in the kitchen so my grandma would enjoy cooking there.
  I taught her how to use a computer, and she turned out to be tech-savvy and curious about everything new. We got 2 lazy cats and loved playing with them. My friends still came over, and everyone loved my grandma. She approved of my boyfriend, and he liked her very much too.