The Holidays

Christmas used to be my mother's favorite holiday - We even called her "Mrs. Christmas". Our house was always full of the excitement of the season. I would get so excited I would spike a fever. My sister and brother remember the holidays differently but I was always excited about the gifts we would get. They say we were poor and didn't have much under the tree--I remember only the majesty of the season, my mother rushing around buying things (if even from John's Bargain Stores--the equivalent of our Dollar Store of today), and the pure, raw excitement within me.
Things have changed - My mother doesn't know that it's Christmas even though we keep reminding her.
I got to New York a few days before Christmas and went to visit my mother. She was excited to see me and I knew that she knew who I was. I identified myself (so that may have helped) but her entire little face lit up with joy when she saw me--that was enough to make my year--talk about day. I stayed and talked with her for a while, then left to go to my sister's house where I'd be staying.
On Christmas day we took gifts and a wonderful Christmas dinner my sister had prepared. She loved her gifts--a warm hat, a long fleece robe. We talked about Christmas and how happy we all were to be together. We took pictures and even though she did not smile for the camera, at least we got images of this special day.You can see her in all of her 97-year glory showing off her new Christmas hat in the picture that accompanies this post.
We stayed for quite some time and on the way out we all gave my mother a kiss - She said to me, "See you on Christmas". That's kinda how it is these days.