My mom blamed me every year for “ruining” Christmas for the whole family. This year, I stayed away… and paid for nothing. At exactly 7 p.m., my phone began ringing nonstop with frantic calls.
“Where is the money, Claire? Seventy people are standing here, and you’ve ruined Christmas again!” my mother screamed over the phone at exactly 7:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. I watched seventeen missed calls flash across my screen, calmly sipped my hot chocolate, and answered, “Mom, I thought you said Christmas would be perfect
