When I was young and a holiday came round,

We chose a loved one’s home and all filed in,

Aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and beyond.

There was food to feed a nation,

Mushy, hankie called for kisses

And breathtaking, rib squeezing, too tight hugs.

Yet what everyone remembered upon returning home,

Was the kinship, the sharing.

Bringing one another up to date,

On spotlighted and tender moments within individual lives,

And the blessing of family connections.

Today there are new faces, joined with the old,

All giving thanks for tightly woven bonds.