The Benefits of Couponing and Having a Stockpile When Life Takes Over

Hi everyone.  Boy has it been an eventful summer, some good, some not so good.  I know I have not been posting much and I am sorry.  I have not been shopping or getting the deals myself either, so don't feel I have been holding out on you.  As you may remember, my summer started out with relatives coming over from Italy.  While that was fun, they stayed much longer then we had expected, and we played tour guide for a week and a half.  That wasn't exactly in our budget, but I figured I save money on so many other things that I could splurge a bit while they were here.  We had about a week or so break, and I was just trying to get back into the swing of things- the kids were off school and activities/camp, etc took much of my time.
Then my mom called late one night with chest pains- we called 911 and got her to the hospital.  She lives alone now since dad passed, almost 2 years ago, so I was the one to take care of most everything, with the help of my brother.  That was a long week, dh was out of town and my kids really had to step up and help out.  We got her home, thankfully nothing wrong with her heart.  But, just 3 days later she called again, and back to the hospital she went.  It turned out to be gall stones, and we got that taken care of.  We still had some other Dr appts and tests to take care of, but as of now she is doing fine!
The reason I tell you all of this is not to get sympathy, but to let you know getting the deals isn't always the most important thing in life.  Family should always come first, and I needed to put my family first for the past month or so.  Fortunately, thanks to my couponing and shopping ways, I had a stockpile to fall back on during the time I was unable to get to the store.  Not only does couponing save you money in your weekly budget, it also helps to keep your family going when life takes over.  In my case I needed to take care of my mom and spent many hours in the hospital with her.  In other cases, people may lose a job and thanks to their stockpile they are still able to put food on the table for their family!
So yes, getting a deal is great, but to put those deals to true use when needed is when it really counts.  Did I miss some deals while I was concentrating on family, I am sure I did.  But my main concern is family, and as much as I love a good deal, the best deal of all is still having my mom!