"Tis the Season for O Henry-like Situations

My ma was 2 when the stockmarket crashed in 1929. My grandparents were resourceful and hardworking, and the family made it through the great depression, and held on to values that developed during and because of it.
On some basic level, Ma is expecting another great depression. She is cautious with money, but far from miserly or withholding.
Her gift giving reflects her early life experience, when she and her closest brother would save things they came across during the year as Christmas gifts. This year she had a money clip from the 70's and a freebie calendar for my surviving brother. She wasn't really satisfied with the calendar, and the money clip turned out to be damaged and not giftable. Although she didn't make a big scene about it, it was obvious to me that she was deeply disappointed and upset. I got a real sense of her younger self, and the deep caring that goes in to her every gesture. Although her judgment has often been extremely poor, her intentions have always been the best. So I got pretty choked up about her being choked up about not having a gift for my brother. Still with me?
I dug out a money clip given to me by our late brother. My two brothers were a year apart, and always close, so I felt that it would be far more meaningful to my surviving brother. Ma was very pleased to have a replacement, and I suggested that we design a calendar ourselves to go with it. Ma went through old family photos, and came up with a concept for each month. She sat here at the computer with me and played art director. The above image is her December collage--we decorated the doll'shouse.