warmest holiday

they will take the two long flights

to Mexico, this time to meet

son and wife with

grandsons who are now

old enough to enjoy December

outdoor swimming and

peering around ancient

Indian ruins

fully warm holiday of joy

inherit the joy

spending my children’s inheritance

but they don’t even want to hear

my apologies

“I want you to be happy, mom”

what greater proof could i have

that i am the luckiest person

i’ve ever known

Page-Pritchard at Golden Valley

three generations of Pages

two of Pritchards, but those two

loving the interaction with Rob III’s

little curly-haired daughters

the extended family is spread out

across the nation and seldom able

to sit down together to dine and talk

renewing and extending the love

of cousins since childhood

toddler raised

(haiku)

daddy lifts toddler

as if tossing to blue sky

son gasps, trusts, giggles

white elephant laughter

grandma watches from the corner

of the couch the generations

choosing, stealing, re-choosing

white elephant gifts, laughing

as the lucky numbers first drawn

get to choose again among

the extras wrapped for guests

who did not come

being in the midst of such love and joy

is worth all the years of struggle

Thanksgiving leftovers

richer by far

for the laughter

the quips and teasing

the moments of grace

and bonding

the delicious foods from many

kitchens of far-flung family

gathering in thanksgiving

for each other and a world

of supportive love

Include more text here to close out the blog, or just delete this box.

painted ladies

pedicures with painted toes

and massage of aching

calves and arches

giggling between chairs

of mom and two daughters

sharing grief with delight

reminding each other of the joy

that lives even amid the sorrow   

richer by far

 richer by far

for experiencing the Rhine’s flow

and stoney Roman camps turned towns

windmills’ sweeping sails staying flood

close-fit locks, padlock-by-lovers bridge

castles now ruins or renovated hotels

robber toll-takers replaced

by tourist trinket salesmen

elk-colored herds of wild horses

swooping waterbirds

cathedral spires piercing gold sunsets

family on top deck to drink in history

and laugh and bond among ourselves

richer by far                                

Kinderdijk, The Netherlands

Alisa Hampton

Amsterdam

view from my window in Hotel Estherea on the Singel Canal.