09/02/2026
My mom loved a bargain;
She never wanted to pay full price.
She was a member of every discount club
for any store that offered one.
And to try and stay connected to her,
when I go into one of these stores
I use her phone number to get her discount.
This morning I went into CVS.
I needed cleaning supplies for my studio,
and when I went to check out, as usual,
I punched in my motherās phone number
to get her CVS rewards discount.
Except today, after I completed my transaction,
it said āThank you, Catherineā
and then showed an unfamiliar email.
I realized that not only had my momās phone number
been assigned to somebody else,
but that somebody else, Catherine,
had signed up for CVS rewards
and replaced my mother.
Tears spilled out right there at the checkout,
surrounded by magazines and candy bars.
as the queue grew longer behind me.
I understand the reality
of redistributing phone numbers,
and I know itās been five years since sheās gone.
But standing there with my receipt in hand,
it hurt.
šØ Art and words above by .
In the comments, we want to hear from you: what small, unexpected things have reminded you of your person lately?
