A Gentle Path Back to Clarity

It was one of those evenings you never forget That Christmas felt different — softer,

more meaningful We gathered at my mother’s house, where our family stories had always

lived And then, quietly, something changed My 6-year-old daughter,

Lily, walked up to my mom She looked up at her and asked,

“Grandma… why don’t you remember my name?” Lily was standing right in front of

her I was watching my mother’s face She froze for a moment

You could see her trying — really trying — reaching for the name she had said so many

times before But it didn’t come She looked down, a single tear rolled down her cheek