Mary Loretta Kelly

Mother and I were not crafters. But some sort of holiday madness took over and she bought a kit with the following: felt, plastic colored beads, gold bric brac, and glue. So we spent a snowy afternoon dashing between the dining room/craft table and the oven rescuing Christmas cookies, the usual - snickerdoodles and toffee bars.

I’ve kept these homemade ornaments for over forty years. It was all about spending time with her and the laughter over goopy fingers and, “Oh God, I can smell them, they’re ready.” She didn’t need a timer for her cookies, or her fabulous pies either, and a good thing too, half the time she forgot to set it. 

We had a complicated, difficult relationship for many years. She could be critical, considered me her “wayward” daughter. But, once we related to one another as adults, we became best friends. I loved spending time with her. And I couldn’t have finished graduate school without her; she was there for me and my daughters.

Those little homemade ornaments mean the world to me. I now have mine, and hers.