Roasts, salmon, mashed potatoes (and don’t forget the vegetables).
 Laughing, talking, chitter chatter. 
 Makes you wonder how five people can make so much noise.

 

I am from my childhood antics, 

My brother’s pranks and wrestling matches (he only let me win sometimes)

And my sister’s autistic world, always full of color and energy. 

Learning to see the world her way is the adventure of a lifetime.
 
 

I am from a broken family that has found a way to rebuild itself.
 Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, dad, and stepdad.

My brother and sister, stepbrothers and stepsisters.
 An odd puzzle that somehow fits, 

And is beautiful. 
 
 

I am from the pattering of point shoes, 

Dancing around in parades,
 Twirling around in my first ballet class, just five years old
 Signing my first contract with a real company 11 years later, 

And the painful stress fracture that eventually ended it all. 

I am from my family, all of them, even the extended 
 Aunts, Uncles, Cousins

New Yorkers, Texans, the Irish and German blood all mixing together, 
 And my brand-new baby nephew

Still glowing and smelling of new life.

I can’t wait for what’s in store, 
 and to know where he is from.