martinimade

Some holiday poetry from AustinMama's Kim Lane, which I lifted with permission from her weekly newsletter. Eat well, y'all.

Along with welcome gusts of cooler weather,
this week brings Thanksgiving, and the gates to the
holiday season swinging wide on noisy, well-worn hinges.
So...
to the many of you out there who are observing Thanksgiving
this week, who may look upon this time as exhausting,
exhilarating, frustrating or invigorating...
to the nervous new-to-this who accidentally
roast the bag of organs inside the turkey...
to those who sponge the dishes alone
to the sounds of distant football games and snoring relatives
napping from abundance...
to those who order-out, have it brought in and make no apologies...
to those who are guests for the first time and really, really enjoy it...
to those who find themselves crying briefly in a closet...
to those whose family members will take this time to come out of the closet...
to those who purchase the cluster of gear and attempt to deep-fry the turkey this year
and to the emergency crews quick to respond as a result...
to those who will look around the table and wonder what they did to be so blessed...
to those who will clench their jaws so tightly during dinner as to lose teeth
but who will refuse to acknowledge the verbal barbs because they're above it now...
to those who witness a newborn's first gathering of family
and take pictures because the new mama is sleep-deprived and completely overwhelmed...
to those who silently swear they will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever do this again,
to those who've said that before but show up next year anyway...
and to those who stick to their words...
to those who feel it all goes too fast and could someone please just slow it down and wait...
to those who make homemade gravy...
to those who stayed up till midnight the night before chopping vegetables,
and who are up at the crack of dawn making biscuits...
to those who feel like ancient, jaded adults
until they cross the familiar threshold of their childhood homes...
to everyone out there to who takes the time to reach out and connect with others during this time;
to those who choose to commemorate our human bonds in any way, their own way, at this time;
to those who use food as the great equalizer ("never mind politics, have you tried this pie?");
to those who have much to grouse about, but choose not to, and to those who work their asses off
making sure others feel a belonging that, really, is already there...

AustinMama raises high our glass to you.

Be well, stay focused, breathe.

Copyright 2004 Kim Lane.