The title of this entry pretty much sums it up: My mom has no idea that Christmas is just a little more than a week away. I suppose I shouldn’t be that surprised, but I am. Christmas was never a huge ordeal in my home—it was usually just the three of us: me, mom, dad, and, of course, the cats. But like most families, we had our traditions, not many, you know, just a few. One of my mom’s traditions was to collect Christmas tree ornaments with the year etched on the ball. She started this tradition in 1981 or 1982. Time flies. I remember going to the Hallmark store in the Muscatine Mall and choosing the ornament with her. Oh, how I was mesmerized by the colors! Still am.

I always loved Christmas, even during those lean years as a pre-teen; and my parents, despite their finances, tried to make sure there were plenty of gifts under the tree for me to open. Now, Christmas is just plain sad… I am sad. I spoke to my mom on the phone the other day and she was excited that she received some shirts in the mail from my cousins (at least I think they were shirts, she often mixes up her words, so they could have been shoes or PJ’s or something else). They were her Christmas presents! She didn’t realize that those shirts were her gifts and that she was supposed to wait until Christmas Eve to open them! It was then that I fully realized—stunned, even though I had suspected as much based on earlier conversations—that she truly had no idea it was Christmas.

I wish this wasn’t happening. Game Over. I want to start over. I want a new life.

Dear Santa, please make my mom healthy and normal again. Love, Kathy

I wasn’t at my parent’s house last year for Christmas, and although my mom knew that it was Christmas then, I think she forgot about her ornament collection. Maybe this year I’ll pick up her tradition and if I ever have any children of my own, it’s something I can pass down to them—something from the grandmother they may never meet. Last year, I decided to start my own tradition: I asked friends to give me an ornament that would always remind me of them. Gotta keep your loved ones close.