My Brother Said There Was No Room For Me On The Christmas Trip Until They Saw My Vacation Photos

in the unhurried way of people who are not performing family but simply being it.

They did not mention my parents once. They did not need to. Their presence said everything that needed to be said about the distinction between the family you are born into and the one that shows up.

That is the context for the Christmas text. Fourteen years of being told continue reading …