Holiday cheer wears thin when living with family settles in
It begins with grins and hugs and remembrances
Stories told then retold
and then living together begins
You notice habits and remember certain patterns from long ago,
Watch as they set in once again.
The way the refrigerator door opens,
The way silverware finds its way to strange draws,
The patter of feet across the floor at odd hours,
The way they move in, require exceptions and
Bend the way things have always been.
The programs they watch
from which you can’t looks away
The interests displayed in shopping
as if clothes and makeup are new to them
The making of room for asking
The inconvenience and the accommodation.
The adjustments to routine cries out in frustration,
Asking if normal will ever be normal again
It is then you see your true face
And then
know the love you have for them,
the care you offer them despite the costs:
The loss of comfort,
The sacrifice made in the shell you’re inhabiting.
Then you know the deep care required to love them.
THH
1/2/24
Thoughts Have Hands 