We sat around the table, each CHAIR elbow-jostling close. And though the numbers change from year to year, we always managed to WEDGE everyone around the table. It’s the holiday tradition – delicious, lovingly prepared meals, special drinks, and of course the stories. We will retell beloved family lore, like the tale of how Aunt Betty surprised the family and decided to ELOPE. We will swap current tales, sharing who was born, who died, and where others took vacations or how they changed jobs. All in all, the happy cacophony of voices around the table EVOKE feelings of connection and hope, an annual gift much anticipated and treasured.

Georg’ann

While everyone napped,
I boiled the FRUIT for the cake.
Orange globes reflecting in the silver pan
I sat sipping tea, looking out.
A portly squirrel makes a CAMEO,
chasing away the doves, stealing the holiday seed cones.
Acrobatic skill was SHONE,
as it deftly hung and pulled at its prize.
I pulled on my kitchen GLOVE-
It allows me to wildly whack.
Thus I began to chop pecans with fervor,
letting them have all pent emotions.
The scent of the boiling clementines EVOKE
memories of times past, absences impossible to fill.

Heather