Gift's from a deceased parent

The short back story is after a short, but horrible, struggle with colon cancer, all the surgeries, the ostomy bag, the chemo, and everything that goes along with it, my mother passed away nearly two years ago. I left a management position after 15 years when they started to have an issue with the amount of time I was missing even though I was using paid vacation days I had earned. The day I left that job, my mother was given just 10-14 days to live and she wanted to die at home. She required 24 hour care and wanted it handled by family. She hung on for 7 weeks and I was there every single night for those 7 weeks pulling 3rd shift duty so my father could get much needed rest and spend the days with her.

My Christmas story actually begins the year prior when my mother was still able to shop for herself. They were not home that final year so although I thanked my parents for the Christmas gifts and how I loved everything I got, I was living a lie. I didn't actually open them. I knew the end was coming and I wanted to save them for a time that I needed one the most. That time finally came today. So even though my mother has been gone two years now, I was able to wake up Christmas morning and open a gift she purchased, she had wrapped, with a label she had written. And to top it off, it was a small 10 pack of the bit sized Baby Ruth candy bars with a note saying "hide these from your dad".

I'm a 39 year old man and although I had to laugh, I'm not ashamed to admit I also cried. My point to this story is anyone going through the same thing, maybe hold back a gift or two so that someday you can still have a gift to open Christmas morning from that special loved one.