The Journal of Ana

Tuesday, December 25th, 2029

Well, it looks like Mom got me what I wanted for Christmas: a handmade leather journal with string bindings and a few pencils. It's nice to see that she is still paying attention to me. I only mentioned the fact that I wanted this journal when we were shopping at the mall about a month ago. I think that's where mom bought this year's Christmas pajamas too. Mom has this tradition where every Christmas Eve she lets me open up one gift, and it's always pajamas. She gets some for herself too, but she usually is wearing them by the time she gives me mine. This year, her pajamas had a pattern of pink dolphins on them while mine had different flowers on them. Mom got me a similar pattern when I was six. They were green with leaves and flowers all over them. Ten years later, I got a matching set. I guess I can't fit into the originals... I still keep them in my closet with a bunch of my baby stuff.

Outside of my pajamas and this journal, Mom and I ended up going over to Auntie Em's house for Christmas again. I always thought that Auntie Emily's house was weird. It's not like it smells or anything. I just think the layout is odd since the second floor and basement are like half floors. They are both connected to the first floor, but they sit on top of each other. The stairwell is only half the size of a normal stairwell that splits in both directions. I never got used to her house. On the other hand, the crawl space under the first floor was always a cool fort that I played in when Mom brought me to Auntie's house. It was always my favorite place to hide since no one else could reach me from there.

I never enjoyed sleeping over at Auntie's house when Mom had to go on business trips. When I was younger, Auntie used to be very strict. She always had a cold voice when she talked to me. She wouldn't act that way in front of Mom though. I think she tried to hide it when Mom was around because she didn't want to upset her. Mom was always protective when someone would treat me differently from everyone else. I think it has something to do with how she was raised when she was younger.

Mom doesn't like to talk about the past. You could tell with Auntie's gift to Mom today. Auntie Em gave Mom a bronzed pocket watch. It had an intricate flower-like design on the front. There was an opening in the middle that let you peak at the clock hands inside. When you open it, you see gold-plated roman numerals on top of a black background. In the center, you can see through glass to the gears running the hands. If you turn it around, you could see the gears as well, but there was a crack in the glass exposing the gears. In fact, the entire watch had many scratches and a few dents. It looked very old.

Auntie mentioned something about all the times she and Mom spent together when they were younger. Mom looked shocked and sad at the same time. Mom asked Auntie how she managed to find the watch. Auntie said something about how she was in the area where Mom threw it back when they were younger and she stumbled upon it. Apparently, the watch landed on a tree when Mom threw it. The tree grew up and Auntie found the watch halfway in the trunk of the tree.

On our way home from Auntie's house, I asked mom what was so significant about the watch. She said it was a gift from her parents when she was a kid. Grandpa used to be a clocksmith and Grandma was a gardener. The watch was their last creation before they passed in a car accident. We have a few of Grandpa's clocks hanging on our walls, but because Mom's old pocket watch was the last thing Grandpa made, it was special to her. I also asked Mom why she threw the watch in the first place, but she dismissed me by telling me that she was going through some hard times back then. She wouldn't tell me anything more than that no matter how hard I pushed.

Well, that's my first entry for my new journal.

Love and kisses from your's truly!

~ Ana