My Dad enjoys going to casinos and gambling. He is fairly responsible when he does gamble. He takes a specific amount of money that he has set aside and from what he says, never spends more than that. Part of the reason I think he enjoys gambling is that he is pretty good at it. He has won decent amounts of money various times over the years. Last Friday, he and my mother went to a casino that is not too far from us. It was Harrah’s in Cherokee, North Carolina. When he and mom returned from that trip he said that he came back with a little more than he went with.

Since my son was in town, my mother wanted all of us to have one meal together while he was here. By all of us, I mean my brother, his wife and daughter, my grandmother, my whole family and mom and dad. What we ended up doing is meeting at Olive Garden at around 11:00 am Sunday morning. Unfortunately, dad was not able to stay with us the whole time we were there, he had a big project that needed to be done by midnight Sunday night, and he had to head back to Augusta to work on it.

Before he left, my mother pulled several of those old time change purses out of her purse and handed started handing them out.  I figured there would be a dollar or some change in it, because that is just how my mother is when she gives out stuff like that.  Sure enough, when I peeked in, I saw a dollar bill.  I got busy talking and giving myself a shot of insulin and etc., mom leaned over and told me to be sure to open up my change purse.  She also said something about it coming from Dad.  When I opened it up and took the money out, there was $500, based on the reactions of the other people, I assumed he had done something similar for them.  Anna and my niece, Madeline, also got money, just not as much.

Apparently, Dad came home with more than just a little bit more than he took.  He won the jackpot on a game he was playing.  I know he could have used to money, but instead of keeping it all for himself, he chose to share it with his family.  I think that was incredibly generous and thoughtful of him to do.

Here are some highlights from our lunch.