Christmas Tradition

I should have seen it coming. It's a Christmas tradition. My father just called (it's 3:00 p.m. my time) to ask me to go Christmas shopping for him to get something for my mother.

Now, this is his 95th Christmas. Surely he could see it coming. And his driver came today and took him places. Surely they could have picked up something in their 80-mile trip. Mama is 45 minutes from here. I'm cooking Christmas dinner. We're trying to go to an early evening church service. No, I can't go Christmas shopping for you.

If Mama knew it was Christmas, I would do anything to make it better for her. I will visit her tomorrow and I do have a little, useless gift that I hope she will enjoy. But whether or not she gets a gift from him tomorrow won't really make that much difference. She doesn't know it's Christmas or, usually, even who I am. (Alzheimer's.)

Jacob Marley must have visited my father, too, because he gave his driver and his driver's friend Christmas bonuses.

When I was little I always found it very exciting to go Christmas shopping with my father on Christmas Eve, getting things as the stores were locking up. Usually because he waited until the last minute he had to spend more, buying nice jewelry for her. That was great fun.

I guess I helped him do this every Christmas Eve until I was married and went North for the Potato Torture with my mother-in-law. That year my parents would have been 74. Lacking my supervision, my father bought my mother a CAMP STOVE. Yes, one of those things you cook with when you are camping. I chastised him, but the stores were closed when I heard about it.

This breaks all the rules. It's worse than a gift you plug in. It's something you cook with without electricity. She didn't leave him. I don't even think she complained. She probably acted excited.

She even used it when they went "camping" in their aged RV, which they used until they were almost 90.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or whatever you celebrate. But please don't give anyone a camp stove.

Comments

[Venomous Kate]

I think your father probably loves the memories of Christmas Eve shopping when you were a little girl as much as you do, or he'd just buy her a Dutch Oven to go with that camp stove. Maybe it's his way of reminding you that, no matter how old anyone gets or how far away their memories are locked, you will always, ALWAYS be your parents little girl.

[jae]

Hey, the dutch oven sounds good to me.

We bought my dad a camping stove a few years ago. Oops. ;)

[Anne]

I think buying your dad a camp stove is a fine gift since your dad is probably a Happy Camper. But what I'm talking about is that my father gave a 74-year-old woman who wears dresses most of the time and has never learned to swim or ride a bike, a camp stove for Christmas.