My mom told me the other day she just prefers to pretend a lot of things didn't exist - she said it makes things much easier for her. So she just "puts on a happy face" and moves through life like that because she'd rather not deal with things.
Meanwhile, she said to me the other day "Remember what the rabbi said about you..." which was at my first wedding in 1997..., meanwhile I've been divorced and remarried plus about a million other things - I don't remember one thing about that ceremony...but she does...crazy!