My mother taught me: “If one’s good, two’s better.” This phrase , which often refers to the benefits of collaboration and partnership, I have found comes in handy as a consumer of goods. With my mom’s love of shopping, which was passed on to me, the above idiom I found also goes for purchases made of basic needs items, or even not-so-basic needs items. Some of my first buys in Laos revolved around what people told me would come in handy. Among them was a rain cape for motorbiking about town. During the rainy season, this apparel would be my staple to keep me dry not only as I motored to and from the vocational center where I teach, but zipping about on errands throughout the city. Rainstorms come up suddenly. Bright, sunny mornings disintegrate into torrential downpours in the afternoon. Preparing for such weather inconsistencies means always keeping your rain gear with you 24/7.

With this in mind, I purchased my first rain cape as soon as I bought my Honda Scoopy scooter. Following my mom’s “if one is good” advice, I had my seller go to the back of her store and dig out 3 more capes. A discount was given and I confidently took my 4 capes knowing they surely would eventually prove a wise spending of my money. One was for me, the second going to Shaloom (our 2-year Global Mission Fellow teacher from Pakistan) and 2 more kept in the Center’s office for staff use. Those 2 have been staying in their original wrapping, unused, for almost a year now. In fact, they were just found stuffed in a drawer a few weeks ago. “Why did you waste your money on 2?” one of the staff recently commented with a frown. The answer came last week, for our free Wednesday night adult class.

If you didn’t know, it’s rainy season now in Laos. The rains come suddenly, with little warning aside from fast-gathering black clouds. They hit in sprinkles or downpours, lasting minutes or hours. We all know, as motorbike riders, to stuff your rain gear under our bike seat or in our bike basket at all times. But there are times we forget. This was the case with Moukie , who works at the China ice cream chain store, Mixue. She came for our weekly free Wednesday night English sharing time at 7 pm. At that time, we had semi-clear skies but by 8:30, as the our time with the group ended, the rain hit.

It had been a long day. She was tired and wanted to go home but with no rain cape, and a 20-minutes journey along busy streets to get home, she was going to be stuck with us until it subsided. Everyone else was gleefully perched astride their 2-wheeled vehicles, or getting in their cars (yes, we have 2 with cars) but not poor Moukie…. until I whipped out my sneered-at “if one’s good, two’s better” office rain cape.

Moukie’s look of gratitude and relief was quite apparent when I handed it to her. She and our other attendees were able to leave together and arrive home at a decent hour. Moukie returned the cape the next week. It is awaiting another borrower, whom I’m sure will be just as appreciative and thankful. How it pays to listen to your mom’s advice and let it guide you through your life journey, right?

Anyone else have stories to share of this common idiom? Send a note! Always eager to hear.

From Laos, here’s Connie staying dry and happy (That includes Winnie, of course.)